THE  NORMAL 
SGHOOL  QUARTERLY 

Series  11  April,  1913  Nnmber  47 

■ Tirm  ! ' ■■  i rjs::  — ■■■  ■■■'—  1 ~ 1 "r,: 

SUPPLEMENT  No.  1 


L The  County  as  a Unit  of  Study  in 
the  Schools  of  Illinois 

II.  Department  of  Geografy  and  the 
State  Course  of  Study 

: H'  ■- & vY^-7v" - . t ■<' ; v * r ' . • , ■•••':  ■ • y . . . fv '&?■ 

By 

DOUGLAS  G.  RIDGLEY 


PUBLISHT  JANUARY,  APRIL,  JULY,  AND  OCTOBER  OF  EACH  YEAR  BY  THE 
ILLINOIS  STATE  NORMAL  UNIVERSITY,  NORMAL,  ILL. 


Enterd  August,  1902,  at  Normal,  Illinois,  as  second-class  mail  matter  nnder 
Act  of  Congress  of  July  16,  1894 


N.  B.— Any  teacher  in  Illinois  may  get  the  Normal  School  Quarterly  regularly  by 
sending  exact  name  and  address,  and  by  giving  prompt  notis  of  any  change  of  address' 


C^r 

Illinois  State  Examining  Board 

For  Teachers’  County  Certificates 


July  17,  1914 — Afternoon 


ENGLISH. 


For  First  Grade,  High  School,  Supervisory,  Kindergarten,  and 
Special  Certificates.  Answer  any  eight  questions. 


1.  Use  the  following  words  correctly:  like  (preposition),  lie, 
rise,  lay,  raise,  sit,  real,  set,  drive,  ride,  purpose,  propose. 

2.  Relate  some  experience  of  your  own  that  has  interested 

you. 

. 3.  What  definite  facts  about  letter  writing  should  students  in 
the  upper  grades  and  high  schools  know?  In  what  grade  would 
you  begin  teaching  letter  writing?  What  definite  instructions 
would  you  give  to  that  grade  ? 

4.  Write  a letter  to  a friend  who  has  recently  visited  you  and 
who  will  therefore  he  acquainted  with  your  home  and  circle  of 
friends. 


5.  What  definite  facts  about  the  paragraph  should  students 
in  the  upper  grades  and  high  school  know?  In  what  grade  would 
you  begin  to  talk  about  paragraphing? 

6.  Suggest  three  subjects  taken  from  geography,  history,  or 
nature  study  on  which  students  in  the  upper  grades  might  wTrite 
compositions  of  three  or  more  paragraphs. 

7.  Imagine  two  friends  talking  about  a recent  picnic.  Write 
out  the  conversation. 

8.  Comment  on  some  short  story  or  novel  that  you  have  read, 
covering  these  topics:  Setting,  plot,  characters. 


9.  Explain  the  thought  in  these  lines  from  “The  Vision  of  Sir 
Launfal” : 

“He  gives  nothing  but  worthless  gold 
Who  gives  from  a sense  of  duty; 

But  he  who  gives  but  a slender  mite, 

And  gives  to  that  which  is  out  of  sight, 

That  thread  of  the  all-sustaining  Beauty 
Which  runs  through  all  and  doth  all  unite, 

The  hand  cannot  clasp  the  whole  of  his  alms, 

The  heart  outstretches  its  eager  palms. 

For  a god  goes  with  it  and  makes  it  store 
To  the  soul  that  was  starving  in  darkness  before.” 

10.  Mention  a poem  suitable  for  each  of  grades  seven  to  twelve, 
inclusive. 


PEDAGOGY. 


For  Second  Grade  Certificate  select  any  eight  of  questions  1 to  10, 
inclusive ; for  First  Grade,  High  School  and  Special  Certifi- 
cates select  any  eight  of  questions  3 to  12,  inclusive. 


1.  Discuss  the  importance  of  the  first  day  at  school. 

2.  Discuss  the  importance  of  assignments  of  lessons.  What 
should  a good  assignment  include? 

3.  What  may  a teacher  properly  do  to  secure  regularity  of 
attendance  ? 

4.  What  difference  does  it  make  how  children  sit,  or  stand, 
or  walk?  State  how  you  undertake  to  help  them  in  these  respects. 

5.  How  should  a teacher  go  to  work  to  help  children  break 

up  bad  habits?  , 

6.  How  may  you  teach  children  to  memorize  so  as  to  save 
time  and  undue  effort  ? 

7.  What  ideas  have  you  to  guide  you  in  making  a program? 

8.  Why  is  attention  so  important?  Under  what  conditions 
can  a child  give  good  attention? 

9.  What  is  the  purpose  of  drills?  Describe  a good  drill  in 
arithmetic. 

10.  Give  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  departmental 
teaching  in  the  grades  immediately  below  the  high  school. 

11.  Name  three  difficult  problems  of  high  school  management 
and  give  your  solution  for  them. 

12.  Discuss  discipline  in  the  upper  grades  compared  to  that  in 
the  high  school. 


Illinois  State  Examining  Board 

For  Teachers7  County  Certificates 


Kindergarten — Primary  and  Supervisory  Subjects 


July  17,  1914 — Afternoon 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE. 


For  Kindergarten  Certificate  only.  Answer  any  eight. 


1.  What  are  four  of  the  fundamental  impulses  of  the  child 
between  the  ages  of  4 and  8 years  which  the  teacher  of  the  kinder- 
garten and  primary  grades  may  use  to  advantage  in  school  work? 
Illustrate. 

2.  If  you  should  teach  number  work  in  the  first  or  second 
grade,  what  relation,  if  any,  would  it  bear  to  other  subjects  of  the 
curriculum  ? Illustrate. 

3.  Describe  briefly  two  games  suitable  for  each  of  the  kinder- 
garten and  first  and  second  grades,  with  reasons  for  your  selection. 

4.  Upon  what  would  you  base  the  kindergarten  program  or 
course  of  study?  Answer  fully. 

5.  What  practical  suggestions  can  you  offer  which  will  tend 
to  promote  the  health  of  the  school  children  in  your  care? 

6.  How  may  the  school  be  organized  and  work  conducted  so 
as  to  develop  independence  and  control  and  reduce  the  necessity  of 
discipline  to  a minimum? 

7.  Discuss  the  use  of  phonics  in  teaching  reading.  Indicate 
the  advantages  and  disadvantages. 

8.  State  fully  what  the  kindergarten  should  do  for  the  child 
in  language  training  and  show  how  this  may  be  carried  forward 
in  the  primary  grades. 

9.  What  are  the  requisites  of  a story  which  is  suitable  to  use 
as  educational  material  for  young  children?  Give  an  example  of 
such  a story  for  each  of  the  three  grades,  kindergarten,  first  and 
second.  Name  three  sources  of  poetry  for  use  in  these  grades. 

10.  Gardening,  pet  animals,  and  wild  birds  are  suitable  sub- 
jects for  nature  study  with  little  children.  Select  one  of  these 
subjects  and  write  a plan  for  teaching  it  in  the  kindergarten  or 
one  of  the  grades.  Let  the  plan  show  the  number  of  lessons  you 
think  necessary,  the  material  to  be  brought  in  and  your  method 
of  presentation. 


EDUCATIONAL  PSYCHOLOGY. 


For  Supervisory  Certificate  only.  Answer  any  eight. 


1.  What  is  the  general  function  of  the  nervous  system?  Show 
how  this  general  function  can  be  expressed  by  the  terms : response, 
reaction,  adjustment,  adaptation. 

2.  Define  instinct : 

(a)  How  does  it  differ  from  and  how  resemble,  (1)  re- 
flex movement,  (2)  habit? 

(b)  Give  a classification  of  instincts  on  the  basis  of 

ends  which  they  serve  and  underscore  those  instincts  that 

are  especially  important  to  education. 

3.  (a)  What  is  the  fundamental  law  of  habit  building ? 

(b)  Discuss  the  educational  significance  of  habit. 

4.  Show  how  attention  is  related  biologically  to  the  needs  of 
the  organism.  Define  and  illustrate  passive,  active  and  secondary 
passive  attention. 

5.  Define  memory:  Distinguish  it  from  perception  and  imag- 
ination. Illustrate  the  dependence  of  memory  upon  association, 
with  special  reference  to  the  conditioning  factors,  recency,  fre- 
quency, and  vividness  (including  primacy). 

6.  What  is  meant  by  creative  imagination?  Formulate  some 
general  rules  for  developing  and  training  creative  imagination. 

7.  Give  illustrations  showing  how  concepts  should  be  developed 
in  the  classroom. 

8.  Give  an  example  of  a case  of  reasoning.  What  principles 
can  you  state  governing  the  training  of  reasoning  in  school  children  ? 

9.  Give  a statement  of  the  problem  of  formal  discipline.  Ex- 
plain the  method  used  in  testing  the  validity  of  the  doctrine  of 
formal  discipline. 

10.  How  can  you  justify  placing  educational  psychology  in 
the  professional  training  of  the  teacher? 


THE  COUNTY  AS  A UNIT  OF  STUDY  IN  THE 
SCHOOLS  OF  ILLINOIS 

INTRODUCTION 

A thoro-going  systematic  treatment  of  the  home  locality 
from  the  standpoint  of  its  geografy,  history,  and  civics 
gives  information  of  great  interest  and  value  to  all  who 
pursue  such  study  whether  child  or  adul t.  A'  correct  under- 
standing of  the  immediate  environment  is  the  surest  guar- 
antee that  more  distant  regions  will  be  interpreted  in  defi- 
nit,  concrete  mental  images  full  of  life  and  activity.  It  will 
enable  the  student  constantly  to  draw  upon  known  condi- 
tions to  interpret  and  explain  the  new  conditions  of  other 
regions.  A treatment  of  the  home  county  is  required  by  the 
State  Course  of  Study  in  fifth  year,  first  month,  and  such 
study  may  be  made  very  profitable. 

In  geografy  the  natural  features  and  industries  of  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  school  furnish  excellent 
material  for  first-hand  study  and  should  be  fully  utilized  in 
home  geografy,  and  frequently  drawn  upon  to  make  definit 
comparisons  in  intermediate  and  grammar  grades. 

In  history  and  civics  foundation  for  concrete  thinking 
may  be  laid  by  a brief  study  of  the  exploration,  settlement, 
development,  and  present  governmental  machinery  of  the 
home  locality. 

While  there  is  general  agreement  that  basic  work  must 
be  done  in  our  schools  by  means  of  a study  of  the  home 
locality,  it  is  not  so  clear  as  to  what  shall  be  the  geografic 
extent  of  such  study.  Geografically  the  home  locality  is  a 
part  of  the  great  natural  region  known  as  the  Gulf  Slope, 
or  the  Mississippi  Basin;  or  it  may  be  a part  of  the  Illinois 
River  Basin,  or  the  Glacial  Plains.  These  units,  however, 
are  too  large  for  special  consideration  in  the  beginnings  of 
the  study  of  the  home  region. 

Politically,  the  home  locality  is  a part  of  the  United 
States,  the  State  of  Illinois,  the  county,  the  township,  the 
school  district.  The  immediate  environment  of  the  school 
bilding  should  receiv  careful  study  regardless  of  the  arti- 
ficial boundaries  imposed  by  political  action.  However,  the 
pupil  has  some  first-hand  knowledge  of  places  and  events 
beyond  his  immediate  home  region  gaind  by  travel,  by  as- 
sociation with  his  elders,  or  by  reading  the  local  newspaper. 
The  school  district  geografically  and  politically  should  be 

l 


2 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly 


made  familiar  thru  school  exercises.  Beyond  this  the  town- 
ship is  too  vague  and  unimportant  a unit  to  be  given  more 
than  the  briefest  treatment. 

An  Illinois  county  is  a unit  of  large  significance.  It  is 
an  important  unit  in  the  congressional  district,  and  in  the 
senatorial  district.  It  has  numerous  important  offises  to 
which  prominent  citizens  strive  for  election.  One  of  its  of- 
fisers,  the  county  superintendent,  comes  into  direct  contact 
with  all  the  school  children.  Other  county  offisers  are  fre- 
quently brought  to  the  attention  of  the  boys  and  girls  in 
school  or  at  home.  In  most  regions  there  is  developt  a 
strong  county  consciousness.  If  strangers  meet  at  state 
gatherings,  they  usually  locate  themselvs  by  naming  their 
county.  The  county  seat  is  the  center  at  which  taxes  are 
paid,  teachers’  examinations  past,  county  institutes  held, 
hunters’  licenses  purchast,  marriage  certificates  secured. 

The  county  soil  reports  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  show  the  influence  of  the  county  unit  in  scientific 
agriculture.  The  recent  issue  of  county  topografic  maps  by 
the  United  States  Geological  Survey  indicates  the  same  trend- 

Geografically,  county  boundaries  may  be  natural  feat- 
ures as  Lake  Michigan,  the  Mississippi,  Ohio,  Wabash,  Illi- 
nois, and  smaller  rivers.  More  often  these  boundaries  are 
purely  artificial  straight  lines  crossing  level  country.  How- 
ever, each  county  of  Illinois  is  large  enough  to  afford  illus- 
tration of  a large  number  of  geografical  features  on  a scale 
worthy  of  serious  study.  Some  of  these  are  streams,  valleys, 
basins,  divides,  hills,  ridges,  moraines,  plains,  and  many 
associated  features.  Culture  features  are  represented  by 
roads,  railroads,  villages,  and  cities.  Industries  are  found 
in  local  stores,  factories,  mines,  and  quarries. 

An  understanding  of  these  local  features  enables  the 
pupil  to  think  such  topics  more  correctly  and  vividly  with 
respect  to  distant  regions.  He  will  be  greatly  aided  in  seeing 
actual  relationships  between  the  books  he  reads  and  the  real 
things  about  him.  In  any  study  of  the  features  of  the 
county,  it  should  be  made  clear  that  these  forms  extend  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  county  in  many  or  even  most  in- 
stances. If  the  county  borders  the  Illinois  river  or  is  crost 
by  it,  the  river  should  be  studied  thruout  its  entire  length. 
The  glacial  drift  of  the  county  Should  be  associated  with 
that'  of  the  state  and  beyond.  Railroads  should  be  traced  to 


The  County  as  a Unit  of  Study  in  Geografy  3 

their  termini.  Large  cities  outside  but  near  the  county 
should  be  studied  in  relation  to  the  home  county.  By  such 
study  the  county  may  be  shown  to  be  but  a small  area  in  the 
larger  physiografic  and  industrial  region  of  which  it  forms 
a part. 

If  the  pupils  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  land  on  which 
they  have  their  homes  was  occupied  by  Indians  less  than  a 
century  ago,  and  that  discovery,  exploration,  and  settlement 
have  taken  place  during  the  last  hundred  years  in  their  own 
county;  if  they  are  taught  some  of  the  interesting  and  in- 
structiv  facts  of  the  history  of  their  immediate  home,  they 
will  have  some  basis  of  understanding  more  concretely  the 
great  movements  in  national  and  world  history  which  are 
exactly  the  same  as  those  of  the  home  county  on  a larger 
scale. 

If  children  are  taught  Ihe  political  facts  immediately 
associated  with  their  school  district,  with  the  government  of 
the  village,  city,  township,  and  county,  they  will  more  redily 
interpret  in  definit  mental  images  the  civic  organization  of 
state  and  nation. 

HOW  MAY  THE  COUNTY  BE  USED  AS  A UNIT  FOR 
SYSTEMATIC  STUDY? 

If  the  foregoing  presents  sufficient  reason  fora  study  of 
the  county  these  questions  naturally  arise : How  can  the 
teacher  obtain  the  necessary  information  for  such  study? 
Shall  the  teachers  of  the  county  endevor  to  do  the  same 
work,  or  shall  each  be  left  to  his  own  resources?  What 
shall  be  the  county  superintendent’s  part  in  procuring  ma- 
terial and  giving  direction  to  its  effectiv  use  in  connection 
with  the  regular  course  of  study? 

It  seems  evident  that  the  study  must  be  developt  by  the 
efforts  of  those  who  are  working  in  the  schools  of  the 
county.  If  done  by  an  outsider,  the  work  immediately  loses 
its  local  flavor.  The  work  must  be  directed  by  someone  who 
is  intimately  acquainted  with  the  county  unit  as  to  its 
natural  resources,  its  industries,  its  social  life,  the  history  of 
various  localities,  the  possibilities  of  the  community  life 
within  the  county,  and  the  best  and  highest  aspirations  of 
its  people. 

No  other  person  in  the  county  has  so  fine  an  opportun- 
ity to  know  the  county  from  every  standpoint,  and  to  influ- 


4 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly 


ence  social  and  community  development  within  the  county 
as  has  the  county  superintendent.  If  he  sets  before  himself 
the  task  of  using  his  county  as  a unit  of  study  in  his 
schools,  so  as  to  bring  to  every  pupil  a correct  and  adequate 
understanding  of  the  home  locality  in  its  relation  to  the 
great  wide  world,  he  will  have  a splendid  work  to  perform. 

If  the  county  superintendent  has  a literary  turn  of 
mind,  he  can  prepare  the  necessary  suggestions  and  de- 
scriptiv  matter  as  a means  of  recreation.  If  he  has  a strong 
executiv  bent,  he  can  secure  the  cooporation  and  assistance 
of  the  very  best  teachers  of  his  county  in  organizing  and 
preparing  the  material  for  the  use  of  the  teachers  of  the 
county.  Articles  printed  in  the  monthly  school  paper  of 
the  county,  or  the  county  newspaper,  to  be  combined  later 
into  a pamflet,  offer  a means  of  putting  interesting  and 
instructiv  material  before  the  teachers,  pupils,  and  the 
general  public. 

SOME  GEOGRAFIC  RELATIONSHIPS  AS  FOUND  IN  ILLINOIS 
COUNTIES 

The  home  geografy  as  outlined  in  the  State  Course  of 
Study  demands  close  inspection  of  the  immediate  home  local- 
ity. This  offers  an  opportunity  to  relate  the  home  region 
to  other  regions  in  the  county  and  beyond.  The  transpor- 
tation lines  within  the  county,  the  location  of  the  cities 
and  villages  of  the  county,  and  the  industries  of  the  county, 
in  country,  village,  and  city,  are  all  topics  that  may  be  stud- 
ied concretely,  and  that  find  wide  application  thruout  the 
state,  nation,  and  world.  A few  of  these  relationships  will 
be  mentiond  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  county  as  a unit  of 
study. 

/.  The  stream  valley  and  the  work  of  running  water. — 
The  bildings  of  the  Illinois  State  Normal  University  stand 
on  a low  ridge  crossing  the  northern  part  of  the  campus. 
Rain  falling  south  of  the  bildings  is  carried  in  one  direction, 
that  falling  to  the  north  drains  in  an  opposite  direction. 
Thus  we  have  divides,  slopes,  and  valleys.  The  valley  to 
the  south  leads  into  a larger  valley  which  may  be  followed 
to  its  junction  with  a larger  valley  and  a little  farther  on 
to  a still  larger  one.  Still  farther  on  the  stream  in  this 
valley  develops  an  excellent  series  of  ox-bow  curves.  The 
banks,  and  at  places  the  bare  earth,  furnish  material  for 
study  of  erosion  in  many  of  its  forms.  The  study  may  be 


The  County  as  a Unit  of  Study  in  Geografy  5 

made  within  a mile  of  the  school.  After  making  this  jour- 
ney in  the  field  the  pupils  are  eager  to  trace  a drop  of  water 
from  the  campus  to  Sugar  creek,  then  southwest  across 
McLean  county  and  Logan  county  to  Salt  creek,  thence  thru 
the  Sangamon,  Illinois,  and  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf.  This 
gives  point  and  purpose  to  the  study  of  the  drainage  of 
McLean  county,  by  means  of  Kickapoo  creek  at  Downs,  Salt 
creek  at  LeRoy,  Mackinaw  river  at  Lexington.  The  relation 
of  these  streams  to  each  other  and  to  their  main  streams  gives 
a degree  of  understanding  to  the  study  of  more  distant  and 
larger  streams  not  to  be  obtaind  otherwise.  It  relates  the 
county  also  to  the  regions  beyond. 

2.  A study  of  the  soil. — This  topic  as  outlined  in  the 
State  Course  requires  observation  and  study  out  of  doors. 
At  a gravel  pit  less  than  a mile  from  the  Normal  school  a 
twelve-foot  section  of  earth  is  exposed  showing  the  thick- 
ness and  arrangement  of  the  black  loam,  silt  (sometimes 
called  clay),  sand,  and  gravel.  By  taking  samples  of  these 
and  experimenting  with  them  in  vessels  of  water,  a concrete 
knowledge  of  soil  materials  is  obtaind.  The  application  of 
this  to  the  county  would  show  that  black  soil  on  top,  with 
silt  underneath,  is  found  thruout  the  county  and  over  most 
of  the  state,  especially  in  central  and  northern  Illinois.  The 
sand  and  gravel  are  not  usually  found  beneath  the  silt  so 
near  the  surface  as  in  this  gravel  pit. 

3.  Transportation  lines  and  the  location  of  cities  of 
the  county. — This  topic  is  well  illustrated  by  an  article  on 
railroads  in  the  December  number  of  the  Woodford  County 
School  Bulletin,  from  which  the  following  is  quoted: 

“The  first  railroad  to  be  constructed  thru  Woodford 
county  was  the  Illinois  Central  in  1852.  Four  towns  soon 
sprang  up  along  this  line.  Minonk,  Panola,  ElPaso,  and 
Kappa.  The  operation  of  this  road  servd  to  open  a wide 
territory  that  previously  was  practically  unsettled.  The 
broad  prairie  was  soon  a scene  of  activity. 

“In  1855-56  the  Toledo,  Peoria,  and  Western  Railway 
was  constructed,  crossing  the  Illinois  Central  at  ElPaso. 
Other  cities  soon  sprang  up  along  this  road,  among  these 
being  Eureka,  which  had  previously  had  its  beginning  a 
mile  south  of  the  present  location  of  the  business  portion  of 
the  city. 

“The  construction  of  this  road  along  its  present  right  of 


6 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly 


way  was  a source  of  disappointment  to  at  least  two  villages 
in  the  county,  for  Kappa  and  Panola  had  hoped  to  be  the 
points  at  which  the  new  road  would  cross  the  Illinois 
Central.  The  crossing  at  ElPaso  gave  that  city  a prestige 
and  advantage  that  neither  of  the  neighboring  villages 
enjoyd. 

“The  river  traffic  merely  touches  the  western  boundary 
of  the  county.  An  elevator  is  located  on  the  edge  of  the 
river  at  Spring  Bay.  Boats  stop  at  Spring  Bay  during  the 
season  for  passengers  and  also  to  deliver  freight.  Before 
the  railroads  became  so  numerous  this  traffic  was  of  more 
importance  than  it  is  at  present.” 

Only  a portion  of  this  excellent  article  is  quoted  above. 
The  article  mentions  all  the  railroads  of  the  county  and 
shows  how  Woodford  county  is  connected  by  its  transpor- 
tation lines  with  Chicago,  Peoria,  St.  Louis,  New  Orleans, 
and  other  cities.  The  facts  of  this  article  are  interesting 
and  instructiv  not  only  to  teachers  and  pupils  but  to  the 
general  public.  This  article  illustrates  many  of  the 
principles  of  geografy.  It  enables  pupils  to  answer  intelli- 
gently such  questions  as  these.  Why  was  Woodford  county 
settled  slowly  before  1850  and  rapidly  afterwards?  Spring 
Bay  was  the  most  promising  early  settlement  in  Woodford 
county;  why  so  small  now?  Why  are  Minonk,  ElPaso,  and 
Eureka  the  largest  cities  of  the  county?  Why  has.Versailles, 
once  a thriving  village  and  the  first  county  seat,  disappeared 
entirely? 

It  is  evident  that  such  information  is  of  great  educa- 
tional value,  and  leads  definitly  out  into  the  larger  fields  of 
geografy.  Why  not  use  the  material  of  the  immediate 
locality  for  developing  principles  of  wide  application  in 
geografy  just  as  we  use  material  within  immediate  reach 
for  developing  the  multiplication  table. 

4.  Distribution  of  population. — Population  distributes 
itself  according  to  the  opportunities  for  securing  the  neces- 
saries of  life — food,  clothing,  shelter,  Population  is  given 
as  so  many  persons  to  the  square  mile.  Thus  in  1910 
5,600,000  persons  were  living  in  Illinois  on  56,000  square 
miles,  giving  an  average  density  of  100  to  the  square  mile; 
92,000,000  people  live  on  the  3,000,000  square  miles  of  the 
United  States,  giving  a density  of  31  to  the  square  mile. 

Density  of  population  applied  to  the  county  takes  on  a 


The  County  as  a Unit  of  Study  in  Geografy  7 

personal  interest  which  makes  a good  foundation  for  such 
study  in  larger  and  more  distant  units.  Thus  LaSalle  county 
has  90,000  people  on  1152  square  miles  or  78  per  square  mile. 
The  Illinois  valley  crosses  LaSalle  county  from  east  to  west 
near  its  center,  a distance  of  30  miles.  Along  the  Illinois  is 
located  a number  of  cities,  and  villages  with  numerous  in- 
dustrial plants.  In  a strip  30  miles  long  and  2 miles  wide, 
or  60  square  miles,  the  population  numbers  36,000.  Thus 
40%  of  the  population  of  the  county  is  found  on  5%  of  its 
' area.  This  narrow  strip  across  the  county  has  600  people  to 
the  square  mile  while  the  rest  of  the  county  has  but  50. 
The  valley  has  attracted  the  population  because  of  the 
transportation  facilities,  coal,  cement  materials,  glass  sand, 
and  advantages  for  various  factories. 

A study  of  an  area  and  its  people  where  the  factors  de- 
termining the  distribution  of  population  are  matters  of  first- 
hand knowledge  forms  the  best  possible  foundation  for 
study  and  comparison  of  more  distant  regions. 

A similar  study  of  Lake  county  shows  that  a two-mile 
strip  along  the  lake  shore  contains  two-thirds  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  county.  Only  one  village  of  over  1000  is  situ- 
ated away  from  the  lake  shore. 

5.  Topics  common  to  all  counties. — Such  topics  as  the 
foregoing,  and  many  others,  find  application  in  every 
county  of  Illinois.  The  material  is  at  hand.  It  is  vaguely 
in  the  conciousness  of  every  citizen  and  every  teacher.  It 
needs  only  to  be  organized  and  made  available  for  school 
use  in  order  to  become  one  of  the  most  effectiv  aids  in  school 
work. 

Geografy  always  makes  much  of  the  four  great  industries 
of  the  human  race — agriculture,  manufacture,  mining,  com- 
merce. No  region  is  understood  geografically  unless  its 
relation  to  these  four  industries  is  clearly  perceivd  both 
from  the  standpoint  of  natural  resources  and  man’s  activities. 
The  relation  of  man  to  the  region  in  which  he  lives  is  the 
key  to  every  geografical  study  of  every  region  large 
or  small.  If  the  child  is  taught  to  use  his  own  experience 
and  that  of  the  community  of  which  he  is  a part,  in  per- 
ceiving these  simple  but  fundamental  relationships,  he  has 
a good  fund  of  organized  knowledge  as  a foundation  for  the 
Study  and  interpretation  of  more  distant  regions. 


8 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly 


AN  OUTLINE  FOR  THE  STUDY  OF  THE  COUNTY 

This  whole  question  of  county  study  has  taken  form  in 
the  mind  of  the  writer  because  of  the  requests  of  county 
superintendents  to  present  at  institutes  concrete  studies  in 
Home  Geografy,  with  application  to  the  teaching  in  a par- 
ticular county. 

Each  county  is  a separate  unit  from  every  other  county, 
but  there  are  necessarily  the  same  fundamental  topics  which 
are  applicable  to  all  counties.  At  the  request  of  county 
superintendents,  the  following  outline  has  been  prepared, 
and  is  being  used  at  present  for  the  development  of  the 
study  in  some  counties  of  the  state.  The  outline  is  offerd 
as  suggestiv  only.  It  may  be  enlarged,  diminisht,  or  changed 
to  meet  the  local  conditions. 

Topical  Outline  for  Study  of  the  Geografy,  History,  and 
Civics  of  a County  in  Illinois 

/.  Introduction. — A statement  of  scope,  purpose  and 
use  of  the  work  from  standpoint  of  school  pupils  and  the 
citizens  of  the  county. 

//.  Location. — A simple  statement,  but  so  compre- 
hensiv  as  to  serv  as  a model  of  full  geografical  location. 

III.  Area  and  population , — so  stated  as  to  cover  the 
usual  form  of  presentation  for  a geografical  area. 

IV.  Cities  and  railroads. — 1.  Name  and  give  population 
of  all  villages,  cities,  and  other  settlements,  in  tabular  form, 
in  order  of  population;  date  of  settlement  may  be  included. 
Brief  description  of  the  location  in  county. 

2.  Full  names  and  location  within  county  of  all  rail- 
roads, giving  extent  of  each  railroad  or  railway  system 
represented  in  county.  Show  relation  to  large  commercial 
centers. 

V.  Climate  of  Illinois  related  to  the  county  under  con- 
sideration.— 1.  Give  specific  directions  for  study  of  weth- 
er in  school,  and  for  one  month  in  each  season,  indicating 
how  to  keep  individual  records  and  to  make  a summary  at 
end  of  a month’s  observation. 

2.  A clear,  simple,  but  instructiv  account  of  the  climate, 
including  winds,  rainfall,  and  temperature.  Some  tabular 
reports  from  county  or  nearest  Wether-Bureau  Station  will 
be  to  the  point. 


The  County  as  a Unit  of  Study  in  Geografy  9 

VI.  Surface  features  and  natural  drainage. — 1.  Give 
specific  directions  for  study  of  the  work  of  running  water 
applicable  to  any  region  of  county. 

2.  Describe  the  surface  of  the  county  so  that  pupils 
may  come  back  to  it  as  a model  of  descriptiv  treatment  of  a 
geografic  area. 

3.  Describe  original  distribution  of  forests  and  prairies 
in  the  county.  (See  Educational  Bulletins  of  the  State 
Geological  Survey,  Urbana,  111.) 

VII.  Soils  and  artificial  drainage. — 1.  Give  specific 
directions  for  study  of  soils,  bring  out  their  formation  and 
some  experiment  with  clay  or  silt,  gravel,  and  loam. 

2.  Describe  the  soil  areas  of  the  county  (see  Agricul- 
tural College  Bulletin  123),  giving  characteristics,  suit- 
ability for  crops,  value  per  acre. 

3.  Describe  levees,  open  ditches,  and  tiling. 

VIII.  Farming , or  agriculture. — 1.  Give  directions  for 
study  of  a well-kept  farm  of  the  neighborhood.  Make  a 
map  of  farm  showing  bildings,  fields,  and  crops.  Several 
maps,  one  for  each  of  four  years  will  show  rotation  of  crops 
well. 

2.  Describe  the  agriculture  of  the  county  showing 
chief  crops,  yield  per  acre,  total  yield,  etc.,  from  government 
reports;  side  crops,  fruits,  truck  farming,  methods  of  farm- 
ing, etc. 

3.  The  work  of  the  Agricultural  College,  Urbana,  111.; 
its  bulletins  and  how  to  get  them;  value  to  farmers;,  illus- 
trations from  county  if  possible;1  the  nearest  experimental 
plots,  and  their  value  to  the  community. 

IX.  Mining. — 1.  General  description  of  the  mineral 
resources — coal,  oil,  clay,  stone,  gravel,  etc. 

2.  Definit  description  of  the  development  of  the  min- 
eral resources  of  the  county;  a model  of  treatment  of  the 
mining  industry  of  a geografical  area.  Details  of  local 
interest  may  be  brought  out  in  a very  instructiv  way. 

X.  Manufacturing . — 1.  Each  industry  should  be 
taken  up  and  described  from  the  standpoint  of  the  county. 

2.  The  treatment  should  be  specific,  and  give  sufficient 
general  details  to  present  a picture.  The  following  topics 
may  be  suggestiv  : 

a.  Location  of  factory. 

b.  Its  organization  and  development — a brief  history. 


10 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly 


c.  The  raw  materials. 

d.  The  labor. 

e.  The  processes. 

f.  Marketing  the  product. 

XL  Commerce  and  transportation. — 1.  Select  a country 
village  as  a simple  type  and  describe  its  trade,  the  articles 
shipt  out,  the  goods  brought  in,  the  facilities  for  handling, 
storing,  and  transporting.  Show  how  larger  centers  are 
developt.  Bring  out  relation  of  trade  to  transportation. 

3.  Show  clearly  the  interdependence  of  groups  of  peo- 
ple, the  necessity  of  cooperation,  the  unity  of  purpose  and 
action  necessary  to  bild  up  a strong  community.  Make  this 
topic  a model  for  study  of  large  areas  from  the  standpoint 
of  commercial  development. 

XII.  Summary  of  geografic  factors  influencing  the  pres- 
ent situation  of  the  county. 

XIII.  A simple , brief  history  of  the  county , — involving 
only  vital  facts  that  citizens  of  the  county  would  profit  by 
knowing.  It  should  cover  important  events  so  concisely 
that  the  school  child  can  lern  them  and  remember  them. 

1.  The  county  before  the  white  man’s  coming. 

2.  Early  settlements. 

3.  Development  of  county. 

4.  County  seats. 

XI  V.  Local  civics. — Here  is  an  opportunity  to  do  con- 
crete work  in  civics  by  a study  of  the  local  units  from  the 
school  district  up  to  the  county.  The  treatment  should 
be  clear,  simple,  but  sufficiently  comprehensiv  to  interest 
pupils  in  the  importance  and  necessity  of  local  government. 
These  topics  may  be  treated — 

1.  The  school  district:  offisers, — how  elected,  number, 
duties,  term.  Who  are  they  now?  Do  you  know  them? 

2.  The  township : ollisers, — how  elected,  number, 
duties,  name  present  offisers. 

3.  The  town  (civil  township)  : oflisers, — same  topics 
as  under  2. 

4.  Village  or  city  offisers. 

5.  County  offisers. 

6.  Relation  of  local  government  to  state  government. 


The  County  as  a Unit  of  Study  in  Geografy  11 

WORK  NOW  IN  PROGRESS  IN  ILLINOIS  COUNTIES 

At  the  present  writing  five  articles  on  the  county  have 
appeard  in  the  Woodford  County  School  Bulletin.  The 
series  is  to  be  continued  during  the  present  school  year. 
Prior  to  the  opening  of  school  in  September  the  completed 
work  is  to  be  publish!  in  pamflet  or  book  form  for  use  in 
the  schools  during  the  next  school  year. 

In  Lake  county,  a committee  has  been  organized,  vari- 
ous topics  assignd  to  the  teachers  best  fitted  to  treat  them, 
and  some  material  is  now  in  typewritten  form. 

In  LaSalle  county  several  articles  have  been  prepared 
on  various  industries  and  manufacturing  centers  of  the 
county.  These  will  find  place  in  a systematic  treatment  of 
the  county. 

In  Lake  county  the  following  list  of  topics  was  pre- 
pared by  the  county  superintendent  and  offerd  at  the  end  of 
the  day’s  program  of  a county  institute  to  beginning 
teachers.  Experienst  teachers  were  not  required  to  at- 
tend the  lessons.  The  county  superintendent  led  in  the 
discussions.  He  believd  that  teachers  should  know  local 
governmental  plans,  and  be  able  to  present  them  as  a part 
of  the  work  in  civics.  The  discussions  were  applied  specif- 
ically to  that  particular  county. 

The  interest  in  local  matters  was  evidenst  by  the  fact 
that  almost  every  teacher,  beginner  and  experienst,  remaind 
for  all  the  lessons.  That  such  instruction  was  appropriate 
and  timely  was  indicated  by  the  fact  that  much  of  this  local 
information  was  new  to  many,  even  to  some  of  the  older 
teachers. 

Survey  system : base-line,  principal  meridian,  correc- 
tion lines,  townships,  sections,  fractions  of  sections,  school 
sections. 

Township  offisers:  duties,  election  of. 

School  districts : how  establish! ; offisers  of,  how  elected, 
duties ; boundaries,  how  changed. 

Money  for  support  of  schools : how  raised,  how  kept. 

Town  government:  boundaries  of  towns,  how  changed. 

Offisers  of  the  towm:  how  elected,  term;  town  meeting; 
supervisor,  duties, — in  the  town,  at  the  county  seat  ;■  clerk, 


12 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly 


duties;  assessor,  duties;  collector,  duties;  road  commis- 
sioners, duties ; justis  of  the  peace,  duties ; constables,  duties. 

Village  and  city  governments. 

County  government : oflisers. 

Courts:  grand  jury;  petit  jury. 

RECOMMENDATION  OF  THE  HIGH-SCHOOL  CONFERENCE 

At  a meeting  of  the  Geografy  Section  of  the  High-School 
Conference  which  met  at  the  University  of  Illinois  in 
November,  1912,  it  was  recommended  thatfhigh-school  geog- 
rafy teachers  of  the  state  be  encouraged  to  make  special  study 
of  the  geografy  of  local  regions,  and  to  prepare  reports  which 
might  be  publisht  and  used  in  the  elementary  and  high 
schools  of  the  state.  It  is  hoped  that  this  bulletin  may  be 
the  means  of  stimulating  teachers  bothgmdiigh  schools  and 
elementary  schools  to  undertake  suchjlocal  studies.  The 
county  may  be  made  the  unit  unless  some  other  area  or 
region  is  better  adapted  to  the  study  contemplated. 

The  writer  of  this  bulletin  wTill  be  pleased  to  communi- 
cate with  county  superintendents,  city  superintendents, 
high-school  teachers,  and  others  who  may  contemplate  such 
work  as  is  outlined  in  these  pages. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  GEOGRAFY  AND  THE  STATE 
COURSE  OF  STUDY 


The  study  of  the  county,  as  outlined  in  the  foregoing 
pages,  is  especially  applicable  to  the  State  Course  of  Study 
for  fifth  year,  first  month.  It  also  finds  a place  in  connec- 
tion with  the  history  of  Illinois. 

The  department  of  geografy  in  common  with  other  de- 
partments of  the  Illinois  State  Normal  University,  adapts 
some  of  its  various  courses  to  the  special  needs  of  teachers 
who  are  to  use  the  State  Course  of  Study  as  an  outline  of 
work.  A statement  of  some  of  the  specific  ways  in  which 
the  courses  in  geografy  aid  in  carrying  out  the  state  course 
seems  appropriate  in  these  pages. 

SUMMER  SCHOOL  COURSES  FOR  1913 

During  the  first  summer  term,  June  9 to  July  18,  seven 
courses  are  offerd,  all  of  which  bear  directly  upon  some 
special  phase  of  the  State  Course  of  Study.  During  the 
second  summer  term  two  courses  are  offerd.  These  are  de- 
scribed on  pp.  18  and  19  of  the  Summer  School  Announce- 
ment, which  will  be  sent  on  request. 

Course  41 , Method  in  Geografy' , — is  pland  to  give  a view 
of  the  course  of  study  in  geografy  from  fourth  to  eighth 
year  inclusiv.  A thoro  examination  of  the  course  of  study, 
the  subject-matter  by  years,  and  the  relation  of  each  year 
to  other  years,  give  the  teacher  a helpful  view  of  the  entire 
subj  ect.  The  study  of  a school  textbook,  field  lessons,  obser- 
vational records,  and  wide  readings  in  the  library  bring  out 
the  scope  of  the  geografy  work  with  methods  of  developing 
the  various  topics  with  pupils. 

Such  a comprehensiv  consideration  of  the  course  of 
study  is  of  special  value  to  the  country  teachers  who  present 
to  their  various  classes  the  entire  course  in  geografy.  Other 
courses  in  the  summer  school  deal  with  somewhat  nar- 
rower fields. 

Course  43,  Home  Geografy , — deals  specifically  with 
fourth-year  geografy  as  outlined  in  the  State  Course  of  Study. 
Teachers  always  agree  that  the  fourth-year  geografy  work 
is  the  .most  difficult  year’s  work  to  teach.  This  is  true  be- 
cause so  much  of  the  work  is  based  on  making  and  record- 
ing observations,  and  interpreting  them  correctly.  Fourth- 

13 


14 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly 


year  geografy  is  a rich  field  for  teacher  and  pupil  alike.  It 
is  delt  with  in  this  course  in  such  a way  that  teachers  taking 
the  course  should  find  fourth-year  geografy  one  of  their 
strongest  lines  of  teaching  next  year.  The  course  is  espe- 
cially helpful  to  all  teachers  of  home  geografy  whether  they 
follow  the  state  course,  or  any  other  course  of  study. 

Course  44,  Intermediate  Geografy, — is  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  teachers  who  have  classes  in  both  fourth-  and  fifth- 
year  geografy.  It  will  deal  with  fourth-year  work  more 
briefly  than  course  43,  and  will  also  cover  the  ground  of 
fifth-year  geografy . Teachers  find  difficulty  in  getting  mate- 
rial for  the  study  of  fifth  year,  first  month.  Sources  for 
such  work  will  be  studied.  The  base  map,  or  outline  map, 
so  frequently  referd  to  thruout  the  course  of  study,  will  be 
used  in  ways  appropriate  for  fourth-  and  fifth-year  work. 

Course  46,  Geografy  of  North  America , — will  treat 
quite  at  length  all  of  the  topics  found  in  sixth-year  geografy. 
In  the  new  course  of  study  the  full  sixth  year  is  given  to  a 
study  of  the  home  continent.  This  course  deals  with  North 
America  in  such  a way  that  the  work  may  be  redily  adapted 
to  classes.  It  will  also  point  out  methods  of  study  and  pre- 
sentation applicable  to  other  continents,  and  thus  open  the 
entire  field  of  sixth-,  seventh-,  and  eighth-year  geografy. 

Where  the  plan  of  alternation  is  followd,  eighth-year 
work  will  be  taught  next  year.  For  this  reason  the  summer 
school  does  not  offer  special  courses  covering  seventh-year 
work.  However,  the  courses  in  commercial  geografy,  and 
mathematical  geografy  will  aid  much  in  the  seventh-year 
geografy. 

Course  45,  Mathematical  Geografy , and  course  47,  Ge- 
ografy of  the  Minor  Continents,  — offer  very  complete  courses 
covering  the  eighth-year  work  of  the  State  Course  of  Study. 

The  mathematical  geografy  will  deal  not  only  with  the 
astronomical  phases  of  geografy,  but  the  facts  of  mathe- 
matical geografy  will  be  applied  to  the  geografical  study 
and  interpretation  of  regions.  It  will  thus  be  made  to  serv 
in  the  study  of  each  of  the  continents  as  a whole. 

The  topics  of  the  eighth  year,  first  month,  of  the  state 
course  will  be  fully  developt,  and  the  range  of  this  course 
will  be  much  beyond  the  brief  outline  of  the  state  course. 
Teachers  of  experience  who  wish  to  study  with  some  inten- 
sity this  phase  of  geografy  will  find  this  course  helpful. 


Geografy  and  the  State  Course  of  Study  15 

The  course  dealing  with  the  Geografy  of  Minor  Conti- 
nents is  offerd  for  the  first  time  with  the  express  purpose 
of  presenting  the  field  of  geografy  as  outlined  in  the  eighth 
year  of  the  course  of  study.  The  term,  Minor  Continents, 
is  used  to  designate  Asia,  Africa,  Australia,  and  South 
America. 

This  course  will  deal  with  subject-matter  and  method 
appropriate  to  the  eighth-year  work.  It  will  include  the 
study  and  use  of  textbooks,  reference  books,  museum  mate- 
rials, and  pictures  most  helpful  in  getting  a teacher’s  work- 
ing knowledge  of  these  continents  for  effectiv  presentation 
to  eighth-year  pupils. 

So  far  as  the  course  deals  with  South  America,  the  work 
will  aid  in  the  seventh-year  geografy. 

Course  42,  Commercial  Geografy , — gives  a view  of  the 
entire  field  of  geografy  from  the  industrial  standpoint  and 
is  a good  single  course  from  which  to  obtain  a large  fund 
of  information  of  great  value  thruout  the  course  in  the 
grades.  This  course  will  be  of  special  value,  also,  to  teach- 
ers who  have  the  geografy  work  of  the  ninth  year,  which 
includes  commercial  geografy  for  the  second  half-year. 

Course  39,  Elementary  Physical  Geografy , — underlies 
all  the  other  courses  and  should  be  taken  as  a first  course 
in  geografy  in  the  normal  school.  It  deals  with  many  topics 
of  fourth-year  geografy.  It  covers  the  same  ground  as  the 
ninth-year  geografy  for  the  first  half  year. 

Teachers  who  have  had  a course  in  elementary  physi- 
cal geografy  will  find  Course  40,  Advanst  Physiografy,  a 
good  course  for  further  preparation  in  the  teaching  of  phys- 
ical geografy  of  the  high  school.  Teachers  of  experience 
and  ability  may  undertake  the  advanst  physiografy  even  if 
they  have  not  had  formal  courses  in  elementary  physical 
geografy. 

COURSES  NOT  GIVEN  IN  SUMMER  SCHOOL 

The  foregoing  courses,  or  their  equivalent,  are  taught 
during  the  regular  school  year.  Other  courses  in  geografy 
are  also  given  during  the  year,  some  of  which  courses  touch 
the  state  course  specifically  while  others  are  advanst  courses 
such  as  the  superintendent  or  supervisor  should  know  in 
order  to  see  the  larger  field  of  study  in  the  subject  of 
geografy. 


16 


The  Normal  School  Quarterly 


A course  in  the  Geografy  of  Europe  applies  directly  to 
the  seventh-year  work  of  the  state  course. 

A course  in  Geografy  Method  makes  a study  of  subject- 
matter  and  method  to  enable  those  taking  it  to  organize  and 
develop  the  geografy  work  in  a system  of  schools.  Numer- 
ous standard  courses,  among  which  is  the  state  course,  are 
studied  and  compared. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  courses,,  a full  year  of 
more  advanst  work  is  offerd.  This  includes  three  courses 
— General  Geology , Climatology , and  Conservation  of  Nat- 
ural Resources . This  year’s  work  is  designd  to  widen  the 
field  of  previous  courses,  and  it  also  furnishes  much  ma- 
terial of  value  from  the  standpoint  of  the  state  course.  It 
brings  home  to  the  student  the  wide  application  and  prac- 
tical bearing  of  geografic  factors  to  man  and  the  nation. 

CORRESPONDENCE  COURSES 

For  several  years  correspondence  courses  in  geografy 
were  offerd  to  teachers  in  activ  servis.  One  course  delt 
with  seventh-year  geografy  and  another  with  eighth-year 
as  outlined  in  the  state  course.  The  teachers  of  the  depart- 
ment conducted  these  correspondence  courses  as  extra  work 
for  the  purpose  of  experiment.  More  than  100  teachers  en- 
rold  in  the  courses  and  a large  number  completed  one  or 
both  courses. 

The  work  consisted  of  32  written  lessons,  four  for  each 
month’s  work  as  outlined  in  the  state  course.  The  excel- 
lence and  high  character  of  the  work  was  far  above  our  first 
expectations.  Teachers  completing  the  courses  were  a unit 
in  considering  the  correspondence  work  of  great  value  with 
reference  to  their  scholarship,  methods  of  study  and  teach- 
ing, ability  to  study  independently,  ability  to  use  reference 
books,  organization  of  material,  economy  of  time,  English 
composition,  and  otherwise.  The  experiment  has  proven 
successful  from  every  standpoint. 

Numerous  requests  for  these  correspondence  courses 
have  been  receivd  during  the  past  year,  but  the  courses  have 
been  discontinued  because  “extra  time”  was  no  longer  suf- 
ficient for  the  demands. 

If  appropriations  askt  of  the  present  legislature  are 
granted,  correspondence  courses  will  be  offerd  to  teachers 
of  Illinois  in  geografy,  and  in  other  subjects. 


Illinois 

State 

Reformatory 

Print 


c 
xn„  r 

THE  NORMAL 
SCHOOL  QUARTERLY 


Series  12  October,  1913  Number  49 


The  Physical  Sciences  in 
Our  Public  Schools 

By 

FRED.  D.  BARBER 

l1  ■;>  . '■  / ' ■ ■ 

PUBLISHT  JANUARY,  APRIL,  JULY,  AND  OCTOBER  OF  EACH 
YEAR  BY  THE  ILLINOIS  STATE  NORMAL  UNIVERSITY, 
NORMAL,  ILLINOIS. 


Enterd  August,  1902,  at  Normal,  Illinois,  as  second-class  mail  matter  under 
Aet  of  Congress  of  July  16,  1894 


N.  B.— Any  teacher  in  Illinois  may  get  the  Normal  School  Quarterly  regularly  by 
sending  exact  name  and  address,  and  by  giving  prompt  notis  of  any  change  of  address. 
Simplified  spellings  are  used  in  the  oflisial  publications  of  the  Illinois  State  Normal 

University. 


THE  PHYSICAL  SCIENCES  IN  OUR  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


Part  I. — Need  and  Present  Status1 


The  most  markt  characteristic  of  the  past  one  hundred  years 
has  been  the  marvelous  achievments  of  science.  During  that 
period  science  has  all  but  annihilated  time  and 
space.  One  hundred  years  ago  people  livd  in 
isolated  communities,  and  the  events  which  oc- 


Science  in  the 
19th  Century 


curd  in  one  community  became  known  in  other  communities 
only  after  long  periods  of  time,  if  at  all.  Each  community  was 
largely  independent  of  every  other  community.  Today,  the 
whole  world  is  a single  community.  No  people,  or  group  of 
people,  in  the  civilized  world  can  longer  liv  by  themselvs.  The 
railroad,  the  interurban,  the  telegraf  and  the  telefone  hav 
brought  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  nearer  each  other  than  were 
neighboring  villages  a century  ago.  The  ocean  cable,  wireless 
telegraf,  and  the  modern  steamship  hav  brought  foren  lands  to 
our  very  doors.  This  is  one  phase  of  the  achievments  of  science. 

A second  phase  of  the  achievments  of  science  is  the  change 
in  all  the  activities  of  daily  life.  The  modern  home,  with  all  the 
conveniences  of  modern  life,  little  resembles  the  home  of  a century 
ago.  Our  present-day  methods  of  lighting  the  home,  of  heating 
it,  our  sanitary  arrangements,  even  our  methods  of  obtaining 
food  and  clothing — all  life  activities  about  the  home  hav  been 
completely  revolutionized,  and  chiefly  because  of  the  achiev- 
ments of  science.  Here  again,  no  person  livs  an  isolated  life. 
Every  person  and  every  family  is  dependent  upon  the  activities 
of  many  other  persons  and  many  other  families.  To  at  all  under- 
stand our  surroundings,  and  even  the  relations  of  man  to  man, 
of  family  to  family,  of  community  to  community — in  short,  to 
fit  into  this  modern  world  at  all,  one  must  necessarily  hav  a 
considerable  knowledge  of  the  living  world  and  the  physical 
forces  about  him.  It  is  the  social  significance  of  science  in 
modern  life  which  givs  it  an  ever  increasing  importance  as  a 
subject  in  our  public  school  curriculum. 


iFor  Analytical  outline  of  discussion  see  page  20 


9 


The  content  of  our  knowledge  concerning  the  living  and 
physical  world  is  increasing  and  multiplying  with  a rapidity 
and  a certainty  almost  beyond  the  comprehension 
of  man.  For  convenience,  we  divide  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  world  of  nature  into  many  so-cald 
sciences.  The  student  or  teacher  of  science  often 
confines  his  study  of  nature  to  some  small  portion  of  the  entire 
field,  and  is  even  then  quite  unable  to  keep  informd  regarding 
the  known  facts  in  that  small  field,  so  rapidly  is  information 
concerning  nature  increasing.  No  real  student  of  nature  pre- 
tends to  keep  himself  informd  regarding  more  than  a very 
limited  field.  No  other  branch  of  human  lerning  is  increasing 
with  anything  like  the  rapidity  with  which  science  is  increasing. 

The  applications  of  science  to  the  useful  arts  are  also,  multi- 
plying with  such  rapidity  that  it  is  useless  for  anyone  to  attempt 
to  keep  himself  informd  regarding  other  than  the  most  common 
and  useful  of  these  applications.  And  yet,  if  one  wishes  to  be 
clast  as  an  intelligent  citizen  it  is  necessary  that  he  be  familiar 
with  some  of  these  common,  most  useful  applications  and  that 
he  understand  fairly  well  the  principles  of  science  involvd.  The 
present  demand  for  more  scientific  agriculture,  for  more  scien- 
tific housekeeping,  for  the  use  of  scientific  principles  in  the  con- 
struction of  bildings,  in  the  construction  and  management  of 
railroads  and  factories,  in  the  management  of  municipal,  state 
and  national  governments — all  these  demands  arise  out  of  a 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  science  servs  useful  ends,  increases 
the  efficiency  of  human  endeavor,  conservs  human  helth,  and 
multiplies  human  happiness  many  fold. 

No  one  denies  that  science  enters  into,  and  to  a great  extent 
even  makes  possible,  the  advancement  of  civilization  along  ma- 
terial lines.  No  one  denies  the  great  importance  of  material 
advancement  in  bettering  the  condition  of  mankind.  No  one  of 
us  is  inclined  to  do  without  the  conveniences  of  modern  life,  to 
liv  again  in  the  primitiv  fashion  of  our  forefathers.  In  theory 
we  all  grant  that  a knowledge  of  science  is  necessary  that  we 
may  be  intelligent  citizens.  In  theory  we  all  grant  that  in  a very 
large  mesure  modern  civilization  and  all  that  is  most  significant 
to  the  common  people  in  the  way  of  improved  living  conditions, 
of  shorter  hours  of  labor  and  greater  facilities  for  recreation  and 
pleasure  which  have  come  during  the  the  past  century — we  grant 
that  all  these  things  depend  primarily  upon  the  achievments  of 


Ever  increas= 
ing  content  of 
our  scientific 
knowledge 


3 


science  and  the  dissemination  of  scientific  knowledge.  With  all 
this  before  us  we  can  but  be  startled  when  we  fully  appreciate 
the  fact  that  science , during  recent  years,  has  been  receiving  rel- 
ativity less  and  less  attention  in  our  public  schools.  It  is  our 
purpose  to  show  that  science  study  is  declining  rapidly,  discus  the 
causes  of  the  decline,  and  suggest  a remedy. 

Systematic  instruction  in  science  is  not  generally  being 
given  in  our  public  schools  below  the  high  school.  But  the 
elimination  of  pupils  from  school  ranks  is  so 
great  that  comparativly  few  pupils  reach  the  high 
school.  Moreover,  elimination  continues  una- 
bated thru  the  high  school  and,  worst  of  all,  even 
those  who.  do  reach  the  high  school  for  some  reason  are  shun- 
ning science  more  and  more. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education 
for  1911  there  were  enrold  in  the  elementary  schools  of  the 
United  States,  public  and  private,  18,339,828  pupils;  in  the  sec- 
ondary schools,  public  and  private,  1,131,466  pupils  were  enrold. 
There  were,  then,  about  16  pupils  in  the  elementary  schools  to  1 
in  the  secondary  schools.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  too  small 
a proportion  of  the  pupils  remain  in  school  till  they  reach  the 
high  school.  It  is  a matter  of  regret  that  there  are  no  satisfac- 
tory data  showing  with  any  degree  of  certainty  just  when  these 
pupils  drop  out  of  school.  Probably  Professor  Thorndike  of 
Columbia  University  is  our  best  authority  upon  this  matter  of 
the  elimination  of  pupils  from  school.  In  Bulletin  No.  4,  1907, 
entitled,  “The  Elimination  of  Pupils  from  School”,  he  says,  “I 
estimate  that  the  general  tendency  of  American  cities  of  25,000 
population  and  over  is,  or  was  about  1900,  to  keep  in  school  out 
of  100  entering  pupils  90  till  grade  4,,  81  till  grade  5,  68  till  grade 
6,  54  till  grade  7,  40  till  the  last  grammar  grade,  27  till  the  first 
high-school  grade,  17  till  the  second,  12  till  the  third,  and  8 till 
the  fourth.”  In  another  study  of  16  of  the  leading  cities  of  the 
United  States  Professor  Thorndike  found  an  average  of  but  33 
per  cent  of  the  pupils  entering  the  elementary  school  remaining 
thru  the  eighth  grade.1  The  following  table  shows  more  definit- 
ly  the  rate  at  which  elimination  goes  on  in  our  public  and  pri- 
vate secondary  schools. 


Slight  oppor= 
tunity  offerd 
for  the  study 
of  science 


1 Report  of  Commissioner  of  Education,  1911,  Vol.  I,  p.  124. 


4 


Table  1. — Per  Cent  of  students  doing  work  in  each  year  of  the 
high-school  course — public  high  schools  and  private  high 
schools  and  academies — United  States  and  Illinois. 1 


1910—1911 

1st 

Year 

2nd 

Year 

3rd 

Year 

4th 

Year 

Grad- 

uating 

Public  high  schools,  U.  S.. 

42.79 

26.73 

17.97 

12.51 

12.18 

Private  high  schools,  U.  S.. 

34.65 

26.93 

21.28 

17.14 

12.60 

Public  high  schools,  111 

Private  high  schools,  111 

42.58 

34.88 

26.09 

28.06 

18.37 

20.08 

12.96 

16.98 

This  elimination  of  pupils  from  our  elementary  and  second- 
ary schools  is  a matter  of  great  concern  to  every  person  interested 
in  the  cause  of  education.  While  granting  the  inaccuracies  inci- 
dent to  the  gathering  of  data  such  as  given  in  the  table  above, 
we  must  still  conclude  that  these  figures  are  doutless  fairly  close 
approximations  to  the  truth,  the  data  for  the  United  States  being 
reported  from  more  than  10,000  high  schools.  Consequently,  we 
can  but  wonder  j ust  what  the  causes  of  this  dropping  out  of  school 
are  and  whether  something  might  not  be  done  to  lessen  this  elim- 
ination. It  is  not  our  purpose,  however,  to  discus  this  question 
at  this  time  but  merely  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  if  the 
teaching  of  science  is  to  reach  any  considerable  portion  of  the 
pupils  in  our  schools  that  we  must  attempt  serious  instruction 
in  science  much  earlier  in  the  child’s  school  life  than  is  now  com- 
mon practis.  Moreover,  it  is  not  contended  that  the  teaching  of 
science  in  the  elementary  school  is  on  the  decline;  it  is  probably 
true  that  science  teaching  is  slowly  gaining  ground  in  our  graded 
and  ungraded  elementary  schools.  But  the  gain  is  painfully  slow 
and  the  teaching  is  so  ineffectiv  that  this  gain  falls  far  short  of 
compensating  for  the  decline  of  science  in  the  secondary  schools. 

That  the  study  of  science  in  the  public  high  school  has  been 
on  the  decline  for  many  years  has  been  apparent  to  close  obser- 
vers. That  this  tendency  has  not  been  brought 
forcibly  to  the  attention  of  educators  and  the  gen- 
eral public  more  often  than  it  has  is  doutless  due 
to  the  fact  that  reliable  data  were  so  difficult  to  obtain.  The 
report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1910  throws  much 
light  upon  this  subject.  This  report  givs  in  tabulated  form  the 
percentage  of  students  studying  each  of  the  high-school  subjects 


Decline  of  sci= 
ence  in  the 
high  school 


TReport  of  Commission  of  Education,  1911,  Vol.  II,  pp.  1187,  1202  and  1212. 


5 


for  the  twenty  years  from  1890  to  1910.1  The  accompanying 
graphs,  Fig.  1 and  Fig.  2,  show  how  the  several  subjects  hav 
varied  in  popularity,  or  at  least  in  emphasis,  in  the  public  high 
schools  and  the  private  high  schools  and  academies  of  the  United 
States.  These  graphs  show  that  the  foren  languages — Latin,  Ger- 
man, and  French — hav  all  made  notisable  gains  in  both  the  pub- 
lic and  private  high  schools;  that  high-school  mathematics — 
algebra  and  geometry — likewise  made  considerable  gains  in  both 
classes  of  schools;  that  civil  government  has  made  considerable 
gains  in  private  secondary  schools  but  has  lost  equal  ground  in 
the  public  high  schools;  that  English  literature,  rhetoric,  and 
foren  history,  hav  all  made  remarkable  gains  in  both  classes  of 
schools.  In  markt  contrast,  however,  these  graphs  show  that 
all  of  the  sciences  listed,  without  exception — physiology,  physi- 
cal geografy,  physics,  chemistry,  geology,  and  astronomy — hav 
sufferd  remarkable  declines  during  the  same  period.  It  should 
be  noted,  moreover,  that  the  decline  of  the  sciences  has  been  much 
more  rapid  in  the  public  high  schools  than  in  the  private  high 
schools  and  academies.  If  the  decline  in  percentage  of  students 
studying  the  sciences  in  the  public  high  schools  has  continued  to 
the  present  date  at  the  rate  it  was  going  from  1895  to  1910,  then 
astronomy  and  geology  are  alredy  extinct  as  high-school  studies 
If  it  is  to  continue  at  this  rate  of  decline  in  the  future,  physiol- 
ogy will  ceas  to  be  studied  in  15  years  more,  physics  in  25  years, 
chemistry  in  40  years,  and  physical  geografy  in  about  50  years. 
To  be  sure,  certain  applied  sciences,  namely,  agriculture  and  do- 
mestic economy  hav  lately  been  added  to  the  course.  But  the 
percentage  of  students  pursuing  these  subjects  barely  amounts 
to  one-fifth  the  loss  sufferd  by  the  older,  so-called  pure  sciences. 

As  is  shown  by  the  graph,  the  Commissioner’s  report  does  not 
giv  the  record  of  several  of  the  subjects  earlier  than  1895.  A 
comparison  of  the  figures  for  1895  and  1910  shows  that  as  the 
science  group  of  subjects  declined,  the  language-history  group 
gaind  ground. 

From  these  figures  it  appears  that  while  the  percentage  of 
students  in  our  public  high  schools  studying  the  science  group 
decreast  39  per  cent  in  the  15  years,  the  percentage  studying  the 
language-history  group  increast  51  per  cent. 

In  his  report  for  191 12  the  Commissioner  of  Education  in 
reviewing  the  progress  of  the  decade  again  calls  attention  to  the 


iReport  of  Commissioner  of  Education,  1910,  Vol.  II,  pp.  1139,  1140. 
2Vol,  I.  p.  9. 


C) 


Fig.  1.  Graph,  Showing  percentage  of  students  studying  each  of 
the  subjects  in  the  public  high  schools  of  the  United  States 
during  the  twenty  yeare  from  1890  to  19 1C.  From  the  report  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Education.  1910. 


/ 


Fig.  3,  Graph,  Showing  percentage  of  students  studying  each  of 
the  subjects  in  the  private  high-schools  and  academies  of  the 
United  States  during  the  twenty  years  from  1890  to  1910.  Frc*n 


the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  1910. 


8 


Table  2. — Comparativ  table  showing  percentage  of  students  in 
public  high  schools — science  group  and.  language-history 
group — 1895  and  1910. 


Science  group 

1895 

1910 

Language-history 

group 

1895 

1910 

Physics 

22.77 

14.61 

Latin 

43.97 

49.05 

Chemist, tv 

9.15 

6.89 

French 

6.52 

9.90 

Physical  geografy. . . . 
Geolcsv 

23.88 

19.34 

German 

11.40 

23.69 

5.00 

1.16 

Rhetoric 

32.05 

57.10 

Physiology 

29.95 

15.32 

Foren  history 

34.33 

55.03 

57.09 

Astronomy 

4.79 

.53 

English  literature. . . . 

38. 001 

Total 

95.55 

57.85 

Total 

166.27 

251.86 

studies  which  are  receiving  the  greatest  emphasis  in  our  public 
high  schools.  In  two  parallel  colums  he  shows  the  percentage 
of  students  pursuing  the  various  subjects  in  1900  and  1910.  He 
says,  “By  comparing  these  two  colums  one  can  see  that  Latsin 
is  holding  its  ground ; Greek  is  disappearing;  French  and  German 
are  gaining — German  more  than  French;  algebra  occupies  a 
large  share  of  time  and  is  stedy;  geometry  is  gaining;  trigo- 
nometry is  rarely  taken,  but  has  not  changed;,  all  the  older  sci- 
ences, rather  strangely , are  relativly  falling  off;  English  and 
history  hav  gaind  materially.  The  subjects  of  botany,  zoology, 
agriculture,  stenography  and  typewriting,  and  domestic  science 
hav  appeard  in  the  list  of  studies  in  recent  years,  but  no  com- 
parisons for  the  decade  are  possible.” 

Some  reasons  for  the  decline  of  science  in  our  high  schools 
are  evident.  First,  so  far  as  physics  and  chemistry  are  concernd, 
there  has  been  a strong  tendency  on  the  part  of 
teachers  of  these  subjects  in  recent  years  to  dis- 
courage rather  than  encourage  any  but  strong 
students  attempting  the  work.  In  fact,  the  work  demanded  of 
ail  students  in  the  physics  and  to  some  extent  in  chemistry 
classes  has  been  excessivly  quantitativ  and  mathematical.  Some 
strong  teachers  of  physics  and  chemistry  hav  gone  so  far  as  to 
declare  that  they  did  not  care  to  hav  students  undertake  work  in 
their  classes  unless  they  could  do  successfully  this  quantitativ, 
mathematical  work.  Ten  years  ago  this  attitude  on  the  part  of 
physics  teachers,  especially,  was  not  uncommon.  The  result 
was  that.,  where  election  was  permitted,  many  students  omitted 
physics  and  chemistry. 


Reasons for the 
decline  of  sci= 
j ence 


Estimated— no*  listed  till  1808 


9 


A second  reason  for  the  decline  in  physics  and  chemistry, 
rather  closely  related  to  the  first,  has  been  the  tendency  to  push 
these  subjects  farther  up  in  the  course.  Twenty  years  aero, 
physics  and  chemistry  were  frequently  found  in  the  second  year 
of  the  high-school  course.  Today,  these  subjects  are  almost 
always  placed  as  late  in  the  course  as  possible;  they  are  now 
almost  universally  third-  and  fourth-year  studies.  This  change 
in  position  has  been  brought  about  in  an  attempt  to  secure  the 
largestamount  of  mathematical  training  possible  before  reaching 
these  subjects. 

The  third  reason  for  tihe  decline  of  the  physical  sciences  at 
least,  in  the  high  school,  is  the  fact  that  these  subjects  are  taught 
as  tho  they  were  primarily  and  fundamentally  college  prepara- 
tory subjects.  The  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  development  of 
laboratory  technique  and  an  attempt  to  teach  something  about* 
every  principle  of  the  science.  Little  attention  is  given  to  the 
applications  of  those  principles  to  the  affairs  of  the  student’s  own 
life.  Now  the  boy  or  girl  who  is  to  pursue  these  subj  ects  farther  in 
college  or  technical  school  may  need  just  the  kind  of  a course  that 
is  usually  given  in  thehigh  school  ;but.the  student  who  must  imme- 
diately upon  graduation  enter  the  world  of  industry,  agriculture, 
or  commerce,  does  not  so  much  need  this  sort  of  training  and 
instruction  as  he  needs  a knowledge  of  a limited  number  of  the 
more  important  principles,  and  above  all  to  see  how  those  princi- 
ples are  applied  to  the  affairs  of  his  own  life. 

A fourth,  and  doutlessthe  most  potent,  influence  tending  to 
steer  the  high-school  student  away  from  science  study  has  been 
the  influence  and  advise  of  the  high-school  principal  or  the  su- 
perintendent. Such  administrators,  when  teaching  at  all,  are 
rarely  science  teachers.  Science  teaching  and  care  of  labora- 
tories are  not  compatable  with  the  handling  of  administrativ 
affairs.  The  efficient  science  teacher  must  devote  long  hours  in 
his  laboratory  caring  for  apparatus,  and  correcting  note-books 
or  in  the  field  gathering  material.  The  administrativ  offiser 
must  devote  long  hours  at  his  desk  and  naturally  prefers  to  teach 
mathematics,  language  or  history  rather  than  science.  Not  being 
science  teachers,  administrators,  as  a class,  are  unable  to 
keep  in  close  touch  with  the  advansment  in  science  and  science 
teaching.  It  is  not  surprising  if  they  think  of  science  and  science 
instruction  in  the  high  school  largely  as  it  existed  ten,  twenty, 
or  possibly  thirty  years  ago.  If  these  statements  are  true,  it  is 


10 


not  to  be  wonderd  at  that!  they  do  not  advise  their  pupils  more 
strongly  to  study  science.  It  is  incumbent  upon  science  teachers 
to  demonstrate  clearly  the  value  of  present  day  science  teaching 
to  their  fellow  teachers  as  well  as  to  their  pupils. 

There  is  evidence  that  the  pupils  and  teachers 
of  our  high  schools  are  regarding  the  sciences, 
more  and  more,  as  cultural  and  suitable  for  college 
entrance  rather  than  as  subjects  particularly 
useful  to  the  industrial  worker  or  wage  earner. 


Table  3. — Comparaliv  table  showing  percentage  of  students 
studying  the  sciences  in  public  high  schools  and  private 
high  schools — 1895  and  1910. 


Public  high  schools 

1895 

1910 

Private  high  schools 

1895 

1910 

Physics. 

22.77 

14.61 

Physics 

29.32 

16.46 

Chemistry 

9.15 

6.89 

Chemistry 

9.79 

9.38 

Physical  Geografy.... 

23.89 

19.34 

Physical  Geografy  — 

18.15 

17.26 

Geology 

5.00 

1.16 

Geology 

7.08 

3.46 

Physiology 

29.95 

15.32 

Physiology 

22.34 

19.85 

Astronomy 

4.79 

.53 

Astronomy 

6.69 

4.20 

Totals  

95.55 

57.85 

Totals 

84.37 

70.61 

’ 

1 

While  Table  3 shows  the  percentage  of  students  studying 
each  of  the  sciences  listed  in  the  report  for  the  twenty  years, 
1890  to  1910,  other  sciences  were  first  listed  in  1910.  If  we  add 
these  “newer”  high-school  sciences,  our  table  will  then  stand 
thus : 


High  = schoo! 
science  regard= 
ed  as  cultural 
and  college=en= 
trance  subjects 


Table  4 


Public  high  schools 

1895 

1910 

Private  high  schools 

1895 

1910 

Totals  Table  3 

95.55 

57.85 

Totals,  Table  3 

84.37 

70.61 

Botany. 

8.02 

Botany 

6.53 

Zoology 

16.83 

Zoology 

11.71 

Agriculture 

4.66 

Agriculture 

3.55 

Domestic  Science 

3.78 

Domestic  Science 

7.55 

Totals 

95.55 

91.14 

Totals 

84.37 

99.96 

From  Tables  3 and  4 the  following  facts  become  evident : 
First.— In  1895  considerable  more  science  was  taught  in  the 
public  high  school  than  in  the  private  high  school;  the  revers 
was  true  in  1910. 


11 


Second. — Considering  only  the  six  sciences  listed  in  Table 
3,  there  was  a decreas  of  39  per  cent  in  the  public  high  schools 
in  the  15  years,  but  a decreas  of  only  16  per  cent  in  the  private 
high  schools. 

Third. — Even  if  we  presume  that  there  was  no  instruction 
given  in  1895  in  any  of  the  four  sciences  listed  in  Table  4 {an 
unwarranted  supposition)1  it  still  is  evident  that  science  in  the 
public  high  schools  has  sufferd  a loss  of  4.6  percent  in  the  15 
years  while  in  the  private  high  schools  it  has  made  a gain  of 
15.6  per  cent. 

In  general,  the  students  in  the  public  high  school  are  pre- 
paring for  life’s  work  while  those  in  the  private  high  school  and 
academy  are  preparing  for  admission  to  higher  institutions  of 
lerning.  These  figures  indicate  that  the  sciences  are  better  ap- 
preciated as  a preparation  for  college  than  as  a preparation  for 
life’s  work. 

Moreover,  every  one  at  all  conversant  with  educational  affairs 
is  familiar  with  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  our  high- 
schoolofficials  and  teachers  to  induce  them  to  put  all  high-school 
work  upon  such  a basis  as  to  meet  college  entrance  requirements. 
It  is  no  secret  that  to  get  the  small  high  school  upon  the  ac- 
credited list  is  the  goal  sought  by  many  high-school  principals, 
and  even  by  the  school  boards.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  the 
near  future  we  shall  erect  new  standards  of  excellence  for  our 
public  high  schools,  and  that  we  shall  then  rate  those  schools 
largely  according  to  the  opportunity  for  training  which  they 
offer  the  boy  or  girl  who  steps  from  the  high  school  into  life’s 
work.  When  that  time  comes,  we  may  confidently  expect  prac- 
tical science  to  gain  ground  rapidly  in  the  high  school. 

Professor  Fisher  of  Cornell  University,  has  attempted  to 
show  that  possibly  the  figures  quoted  from  the  Commissioner’s 
report  may  not  mean  that  the  sciences  are  really 
as  unpopular  as  they  appear  to  be.2  As  a result 
of  a somewhat  labored  and  technical  argument 
based  upon  meager  and  unsatisfactory  data,  as  Professor  Fisher 
admits,  he  concludes  that  a portion  of  this  apparent  unpopular- 
ity is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  sciences  are  not  being  given  a fair 
opportunity  in  the  high-school  curriculum.  He  attempts  to  show 
but  with  some  timidity  regarding  the  certainty  of  his  deduc- 

iAltho  botany  and  zoology  a^e  not  listed  in  the  Commissioner’s  report  until  1910,  it  is 
a well  known  fact  that  these  sciences  hav  had  a place  in  most  high-school  curricula  for 
many  years. 

2Seience,  N.  S , Vol.  XXXV,  p.  94. 


Are  the  sci= 
ences  really 
unpopular? 


12 


tions^  that  if  all  high-school  subjects  had  been  given  equal  op- 
portunity with  other  subjects  during  the  decade  between  1894 
and  1904,  that  Latin  insted  of  gaining  14  per  cent  in  popularity 
would  hav  lost  about  8 per  cent;  algebra,  insted  of  gaining  7 
per  cent  would  have  lost  about  6 per  cent;  geometry,  insted  of 
gaining  8 per  cent  would  have  lost  14  per  cent;  physics,  insted 
of  losing  34  per  cent  would  hav  lost  36  per  cent;  chemistry,  in- 
sted of  losing  31  per  cent  would  have  lost  but  23  per  cent;  phy- 
sical geografy,  insted  of  losing  5 per  cent  would  have  gaind  5 per 
cent. 

Professor  Fisher  does  not  suggest  the  possibility  of  there 
being  anything  wrong  or  lacking  in  the  choice  of  subject-mat- 
ter, nor  does  he  suggest  that  the  usual  manner  of  presentation 
mightbeimproved.  His  solution  of  the  dilemma  in  which  science 
finds  itself  today  is  to  offer  courses  in  each  line  of  science  in 
practically  each  year  of  the  high-school  course.  He  says,  “ I 
am  inclined  to  conclude  from  this  table,  that,  in  spite  of  the 
general  impression  to  the  contrary,  American  boys  and  girls 
like  the  sciences,  both  natural  and  exact,  better  than  they  like 
the  languages,  provided  they  hav  only  as  good  a chance  to  get  at 
them , and  the  way  to  save  the  situation  for  science  is  to  giv 
them  the  chance  early  in  the  course.  I assert  with  confidence, 
that  had  80  per  cent  of  Dexter’s  schools1  in  1904,  offerd  four 
years  of  chemistry  and  physics  insted  of  four  years  of  Latin,  as 
they  did,  we  should  hav  found  the  figures  of  percentage  just 
about  the  revers,  or  even  worse  for  Latin.” 

It  is  possible  Professor  Fisher  is  right  in  his  contention  that 
if  each  of  the  sciences  were  offerd  in  the  first  year  of  the  high- 
school  course  that  the  students  would  then  be 
desirous  of  pursuing  these  subj  ects  thruout  the  en- 
tire four  years.  The  impossibility,  however,  of 
following  his  suggestion  and  thus  offering  four- 
year  courses  in  each  of  the  sciences  now  offerd  in  the  high  school 
as  is  the  case  with  Latin  and  English,  is  obvious.  Moreover,  a 
study  of  the  needs  of  the  students  in  our  high  schools,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  the  subject  matter  we  are  now  offering  in  these 
science  subjects,  on  the  other  hand,  can  but  lead  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  we  are  not  now  offering  the  kind  of  science  which 


Impracticability 
of  Professor 
Fisher’ssolution 
of  the  problem 


1School  Review,  Vol.  14,  p.  254. 


13 


warrants  the  expenditure  of  any  such  amounts  of  time  and  energy 
as  would  be  demanded  by  such  a program.  While  the  conten- 
tion that  science  instruction  deservs  more  time  and  should 
occupy  a more  commanding  position  in  our  high  schools  than 
it  now  has,  is  well  founded,  there  is  little  hope  of  much  change 
until  our  school  boards,  our  high-school  principals,  and  espe- 
cially the  high-school  teachers  of  science  recognize  the  needs  of 
the  majority . of  the  high-school  pupils.  When  that  time  comes, 
science  will  be  put  upon  a new  basis;  it  will  be  given  a new 
content;  it  will  be  made  to  serv  the  majority  insted  of  the 
minority;  it  will  then  appeal  to  the  pupils  from  the  homes  of 
the  working  classes  as  worth  while,  and  there  can  be  no  dout 
that  it  will  redily  be  granted  the  time  and  position  which  its 
true  worth  warrants.  With  the  development  of  vocational  tend- 
encies in  our  high  schools,  science  instruction  must  play  its 
part — a leading  part;  but  to  do  this,  it  must  be  adapted  to  new 
needs. 

According  to  a recent  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion, 1 our  public  high  schools  are  thoroly  democratic  in  character 
and  ought  to  provide  training  for  those  students 
who  are  preparing  to  earn  their  living  by  manual 
labor  as  well  as  for  those  who  are  to  enjoy  the 
privilege  of  further  training  in  the  higher  educa- 
tional institutions.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  students 
in  our  public  high  schools  are  drawn  from  every  class  of  people 
and  are  certain  to  enter  every  field  of  employment.  According 
to  this  report,  the  pupils  in  our  public  high  schools  come  from 
the  following  classes  : 

10%  whose  fathers  are  professional  men, 

21%  whose  fathers  operate  farms  worth  over  $5,000, 

15%  whose  fathers  operate  farms  worth  less  than  $5,000, 

10%  whose  fathers  make  $2,000  per  year  or  more  in  trade  or  commerce, 
11  °/o  whose  fathers  make  between  $1,000  and  $2,000  in  trade  or  com- 
merce, 

14%o  whose  fathers  are  skild  artisans  making  $750  or  more  a year, 

16%  whose  fathers  are  unskild  laborers. 

Commenting  upon  the  present  character  of  our  public  high 
schools,  the  report  says,  “The  opportunity  to  advance  in  that 
type  of  work  which  leads  to  college,  university,  professional  or 
technical  school  is  enjoyd  by  all.  It  is  in  this  particular  that 
we  hav  made  good  our  boasted  claim  of  equality  of  opportunity,. 2 


Purposes  with 
which  pupilsen= 
ter  the  high 
school 


1 Report  tor  1910,  Vol.  51,  p.  xxv. 

2 italics  are  the  author’s. 


Fig*  3.  Graphs, 

1,  Showing  percentage  of  students  in  the  public  high-schools  of 
the  United  StateB  reported  as  preparing  for  college.  1890  to  1910. 

2,  Showing  percentage  of  students  in  the  private  high-schools 
and  academies  reported  as  preparing  for  college,  1890  to  1910. 


3,  Showing  percentage  of  graduates  of  the  public  high-schools 
reported  as  prepared  for  college. 

4.  Showing  percentage  of  graduates  of  private  high-schools  and 
academies  reported  as  prepared  for  college, 


15 


While  the  high  school  is  thoroly  cosmopolitan  in  its  member- 
ship, it  is  notisable  that  a much  larger  proportion  of  children 
from  vveil-to-do  families  than  from  those  of  more  moderate  cir- 
cumstances or  from  the  families  of  the  poor  are  found  in  our 
high  schools.  It  needs  also  to  be  rememberd  that  those  who 
do  not  wish  to  take  the  course  which  leads  to  college  or  pro- 
fessional school  hav  as  yet  very  little  provision  made  for  their 
education.  We  may  be  proud  of  the  great  number  of  boys  and 
girls  enrold  in  our  high  schools,  but  we  are  justly  ashamed  of 
the  meager  opportunity  afforded  those  who  are  to  enter  the  in- 
dustries.” 

According  to  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  the  proportion 
of  students  enrold  in  our  public  high  schools  with  the  purpose 
of  preparing  for  college  has  been  stedily  decreasing  during  the 
past  twenty  years — from  14.44  per  cent  in  1890  to  5.57  per 
cent  in  1910.  The  graphs,  Fig.  3,  show  the  variations  in  the  per- 
centage of  students  both  in  public  high  schools  and  in  private 
high  schools  and  academies  who  were  preparing  for  college 
from  1890  to  1900,  also,  the  percentage  of  graduates  reported  as 
prepared  for  college.  If  these  figures,  taken  from  the  Commis- 
sioner’s report,  are  reliable,  they  indicate  clearly  two  facts: 
first,  comparativly,  a small  percentage  of  students  in  the 
public  high  school  use  it  as  a preparatory  school;  moreover,  the 
percentage  who  do  so  is  rapidly  decreasing;  second,  colleges 
and  universities  are  generally  redy  and  willing  to  accept  the 
work  now  being  done  in  the  public  high  school  as  satisfactory 
preparation  for  college  entrance. 

No  one  can  observ  the  fact  that  only  5%  per  cent  of  the 
pupils  in  our  public  high  schools  are  taking  the  course  as  a pre- 
paration for  college  while  34  per  cent  of  the  graduates  of  those 
schools  are  reported  as  prepared  for  college  without  having  two 
questions  come  forcibly  forward  for  answer:  first,  is  it  not 
true  that  our  public  high  schools  are  now  being  run  primarily 
as  if  they  were  college-preparatory  schools;  i.  e.,  are  not  the 
pupils  encouraged,  if  not  forced,  to  pursue  a college  preparatory 
program,  and  is  not  the  subject  matter  and  instruction  in  each 
course  pitcht  chiefly  to  meet  college-entrance  requirements? 
Second,  were  we  to  fashion  our  high-school  courses  so  as  best 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  94  or  95  per  cent  who  do  not  intend  to 
go  to  college,  would  we  follow  essentially  different  lines  in  these 
matters?  It  is  intended  in  this  paper  to  discus  these  questions 


16 


only  as  they  affect  the  teaching  of  science,  and  especially  the 
physical  sciences. 

One  has  but  to  note  the  percentage  of  students  studying  each 
of  the  high-school  subjects  to  see  that  the  emphasis  is  being 
placed  upon  subjects  which  are  not  especially 
adapted  to  help  the  boys  and  girls  who  must 
go  to  work  earning  a living  as  soon  as  they 
leav  the  high  school.  As  we  have  shown,  English 
literature,  rhetoric,  algebra,  history  (other 
than  United  States) , and  Latin  are  the  five  subjects 
being  pursued  by  the  largest  number  of  students  in  our 
high  schools.  No  one  douts  the  value  of  these  subjects  when 
pursued  as  culture  studies.  No  one  would  seriously  consider  the 
elimination  of  most  of  the  subjects  in  this  group  from  the  pro- 
gram of  every  high-school  student.  The  only  question  is  that  of 
their  superiority  over  the  science  group,  which  is  receiving  the 
least  emphasis,  as  a preparation  for  entering  the  industries. 
They  are  pre-eminently  college-preparatory  subjects.  It  is  the 
comparison  of  the  emphasis  placed  upon  studies  of  this  type 
with  the  emphasis  placed  upon  studies  which  are  pre-eminently 
useful  in  equipping  the  industrial  worker  and  wage  earner  for 
highly  intellectual  work  and  useful  citizenship  which  is  to  be 
considerd  here. 

The  character  of  the  modern  public  high  school  becomes 
most  evident  if  we  rather  arbitrarily  divide  all  the  common  high- 
school  subjects  into  two  groups,  putting  into  Group  I subjects 
which  are  commonly  regarded  as  characteristically  culture  stud- 


The  ordinary 
high  = school 
course  is  pri= 
marily  a col= 
lege  prepara= 
tory  course 


Table  5. — Per  cent  of  students  pursuing  subjects  in  the  public 
schools  of  the  United  States , Year  of  1909-1910 


Group  I 

Latin 

49.05 

.75 

9.90 

23.69 

56.85 

Greek 

French 

German 

Algebra 

Geometry 

30.87 

55.03 

57.10 

57.09 

History  (Foren) 

Rhetoric 

English  literature 

Total 

340.33 

Group  II 

Physiology 

15.32 

Physical  geografy 

19.34 

Physics 

14.61 

Chemistry 

6.89 

'Botany.  

16.83 

Zoology 

8.02 

Agriculture 

4.66 

Household  economy 

3.78 

Civil  government 

15.55 

Total 

105.00 

17 


ies,  or  at  least,  which  are  regarded  as  desirable  college-entrance 
studies,  and  into  Group  II  an  equal  number  of  subjects  which  are 
generally  regarded  as  of  high  value  to  the  intelligent  industrial 
worker  and  generally  good  citizen  of  the  wage-earning  class. 

From  these  figures  we  see  that  3%  times  as  many  students 
were  pursuing  the  subjects  in  Group  1 as  were  pursuing  those  in 
Group  2.  Considering  the  fact  that  the  subjects  in  Group  II  are 
especially  adapted  to  the  broad  intellectual  training  of  the  boy 
who  is  to  enter  the  industries  or  agriculture  and  to  the  training 
of  the  girl  who  is  to  be  an  intelligent  home-maker  and  mother 
as  well  as  to  the  training  of  both  boys  and  girls  in  the  science 
of  helth  preservation  and  general  good  citizenship — considering 
this  fact,  it  seems  clear  that  the  subjects  in  Group  II  should  receiv 
in  our  public  high  schools  as  much  emphasis  as  those  in  Group 
I.  When  we  note,  however,  that  they  are  now  receiving,  in  fact 
but  Vs  as  much  emphasis,  some  of  us  ceas  to  wonder  that  the 
charge  has  recently  been  made  that  our  public  high  schools  are 
near  failures.  Nor  can  we  greatly  wonder  that  the  further  charge 
has  been  made  that  it  is  useless  to  expect  our  public  high  schools, 
as  now  organized,  so  to  readjust  themselvs  as  to  offer  equal  op- 
portunity to  the  student  whose  education  and  training  ceases  with 
the  high  school  and  the  student  who  is  to  enjoy  a more  extensiv 
training.  It  is  little  wonder  that  the  demand  for  separate  voca- 
tional high  schools  arose.  Unless  our  public  high  schools  are 
so  modified  as  better  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  masses  of  young 
people  whose  school  training  ceases  with  the  high  school  the  de- 
mand for  separate  vocational  high  schools  is  certain  to  prevail  in 
the  near  future.  And,  if  our  public  high  schools  are  to  continue 
to  run  primarily  as  preparatory  schools,  who  is  willing  to  say 
that  the  separate  vocational  high  school  ought  not  to  be  estab- 
lisht? 

There  is  an  essential  difference  between  an  ideal  college 
preparatory  course  in  physics  or  chemistry  and  an  ideal  high- 
school  course  in  those  subjects.  The  ideal  pre- 
paratory course  in  either  of  these  subjects  is  sim- 
ply the  first  year’s  work  of  a two-  three-  or  four- 
year  course  in  the  subject.  The  ideal  high-school 
course  in  either  of  these  subjects  is  an  abridged 
or  abbreviated  course  which  may  be  completed 
in  the  one  year  usually  allowd  to  the  subject.  In  the  prepara- 
tory course  the  emphasis  may  very  properly  be  placed  upon  the 


Difference  be= 
tween  a college 
preparatory 
course  in  phys= 
ics  orchemis= 
try  and  a high= 
school  course 


18 


mastery  of  a large  number  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
science  and  upon  the  acquirement  of  laboratory  technique,  omit- 
ting to  a considerable  extent  the  applications  of  the  principle  to 
the  affairs  of  life.  If  the  student  is  to  continue  the  study  of  this 
particular  science  for  one,  two,  or  three  years  in  the  college  or 
technical  school  the  manipulativ  skill  he  acquired  in  the  high 
school  will  serv  him  well.  Moreover,  the  application  of  the  prin- 
ciples involvd  in  the  science  will  become  more  and  more  evident 
as  the  course  develops.  In  fact,  in  the  technical  school,  that  side 
will  receiv  the  emphasis. 

The  ideal  high-school  course  in  physics  or  chemistry  for  the 
boy  or  girl  who  is  to  enter  the  industries  or  become  a home- 
maker should  be  pland  to  meet  existing  conditions  and  attain 
definit  ends.  It  is  not  a stepping  stone  leading  to  advanst  work; 
it  must  be  a complete  course  in  itself.  A large  rnesure  of  labo- 
ratory manipulativ  skill  is  neither  necessary  nor  desirable; 
some  such  training  is,  without  dout,  useful,  but  the  pupil’s 
time  can  be  better  spent  in  acquiring  information  than  spent 
chiefly  in  acquiring  manipulativ  skill  which  after  all,  as  we  well 
know,  is  quite  peculiar  to  the  laboratory  and  foren  to  most  of  life’s 
activities.  But  it  is  in  another  particular  that  the  most  striking 
difference  is  found  between  the  ideal  high-school  course  in 
physics  or  chemistry  and  the  ideal  preparatory  course.  In  the 
ideal  high-school  course  it  is  very  essential  that  the  student 
be  led  to  appreciate  the  relation  of  the  principle  studied  to  the 
affairs  of  his  own  life.  The  hierh-school  boy  needs  to  see 
deflnitly  how  the  principles  lernd  in  his  chemistry  are  related 
to  the  burning  of  coal  in  the  furnace  of  which  he  has  charge, 
to  the  burning  of  oil  or  gas  producing  the  light  by  which  he 
studies,  to  his  efforts  at  gardening  and  agriculture,  and  to  the 
industries  in  which  his  father  and  older  brothers  work.  The 
high-school  girl  needs  to  see  clearly  how  the  chemical  prin- 
ciples she  lerns  are  applied  to  cooking  and  cleaning,  to  dyeing 
and  dietary,  to  the  handling  of  gasoline  and  gas  stoves,  to  sani- 
tation rather  than  to  meditation.  To  confine  instruction  merely 
to  the  principles  of  the  science  without  leading  the  student  to 
see  how  those  principles  are  vitally  related  to  the  common  daily 
activities  of  the  student  and  the  community  in  which  he  livs, 
is  to  waste,  in  a large  rnesure,  the  time  of  the  pupil  and,  still 
worse,  to  cultivate  in  him  the  habit  of  regarding  as  of  value 
undigested  or  half-digested  information  which  will  soon  be 


19 


completely  forgotten  or,  at  least,  become  so  hazy  as  to  be  of 
little  or  no  value  to  him  in  life’s  work. 

In  order  that  any  instruction  given  in  school  may  be  of 
lasting  benefit  to  the  pupils  the  facts  or  principles  presented 
must  be  interwoven  with  the  pupil’s  life  experi- 
ences. At  their  best,  our  schools  are  open  to  the 
criticism  of  failing  to  dovetail  sufficiently  school 
life  and  home  life.  The  result  is  that  we  find  it  necessary  to 
repeat  time  and  again  the  presentation  of  the  principles  and 
generalizations  we  attempt  to  teach.  Teachers  of  physics  and 
chemistry  often  assert  that  their  students  fail  t»o  handle  success- 
fully the  mathematical  problems  and  quantitativ  relations  which 
arise  in  the  study  of  the  sciences.  Yet  it  is  the  experience  of  the 
teachers  of  the  sciences  that  the  students  can  generally  perform 
the  mathematical  calculations  with  fair  accuracy  and  rapidity 
provided  they  are  so  coacht  that  they  know  just  which  mathe- 
matical process  is  required.  They  can  multiply,  divide,  extracti 
square  roots,  solv  problems  in  percentage  and  sometimes  even  in 
quadratics,  provided  they  arc  told  just  the  nature  of  the  problem 
and  steered  straight  to  the  mathematical  process  required.  The 
difficulty  is  evident.  Teachers  of  mathematics  hav  not  yet  been 
able  to  relate  their  instruction  sufficiently  to  the  affairs  of  the 
student’s  life  activities.  Mathematical  principles  and  mathe- 
matical processes  hav  generally  been  well  mastered  by  the  student, 
but  teachers  of  physics  and  chemistry  hav  abundant  opportunity 
to  observ  the  fact  that  those  mathematical  principles  and  pro- 
cesses are  not  always  held  in  such  a manner  as  to  be  available 
when  most  needed.  If  the  principles  and  processes  developt 
in  the  mathematics  class  were  taught  out.  of  the  material  which 
constitutes  the  pupil’s  real  environment — if  the  student  were  led 
habitually  to  develop  mathematical  principles  and  processes  outi 
of  the  activities  of  his  daily  life  and  to  feel  the  mastery  of  those 
principles  and  processes  to  be  a necessity  for  his  best  welfare 
— if  mathematics  were  thus  taught,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  when  similiar  situations  again  arise  the  pupil  will  be 
able  to  see  more  clearly  the  quantitativ  relation  involvd  and 
therefore  draw  intelligently  upon  his  knowledge  of  mathematics 
to  furnish  the  solution? 

High-school  teachers  of  physics  and  chemistry,  however,  hav 
little  if  any  justification  in  criticizing  the  methods  of  the  mathe- 
matics teachers.  It  is  equally  true  that  the  pupil  is  not  usually 


Shall  it  be 
“pure”  or  ap= 
plied  science? 


20 


able  to  make  applications  of  the  principles  lernd  in  his  physics 
and  chemistry  classes  unless  those  principles  hav  been  developt 
out  of,  or  in  connection  with,  his  actual  life  experiences.  It  is 
true  that  the  student  who  is  to  keep  straight  on  thru  the  college 
or  technical  schools  will  hav  much  opportunity  in  his  later 
courses  to  work  out  the  applications  of  the  principles  of  physics 
and  chemistry  to  practical  affairs.  But  in  the  ordinary  high- 
school  course  today  the  less  favord  student,  who  has  no  hope  or 
prospect  of  receiving  further  training  is  also  given  courses 
which  are  chiefly  “pure”  science  (perhaps  a more  appropriate 
term  would  be  “sterilized”  science),  and  then  is  sent  forth  into 
the  world  to  work  out  the  dillicult  relations  of  applied  science 
for  himself.  Generally  this  is  just  what  he  does  not  and  can 
not  do. 

Analytical  Summary  of  Part  I 

1.  The  achievments  of  science  hav  made  the  whole  world 
a single  community.  To  be  an  intelligent  citizen  of  the  world 
one  must  have  considerable  knowledge  of  science. 

2.  Science  has  also  enterd  into  almost  every  convenience 
of  modern  life  ;■  it  affects  life’s  activities  at  every  turn.  The 
social  significance  of  science  in  modern  life  justifies  the  empha- 
sis of  science  study  in  our  public  schools. 

3.  The  content  of  our  scientific  knowledge  is  great  and  is 
increasing  at  a rate  much  faster  than  is  the  content  of  any 
other  division  of  human  lerning. 

4.  Altho,  in  theory,  we  all  grant  the  dependence  of  modern 
civilization  upon  science,  statistics  show  that  our  public  schools 
are  placing  relativly  less  and  less  emphasis  upon  the  teaching 
of  science. 

5.  In  the  grades  science  is  doutless  slowly  gaining  ground, 
but  in  the  high  school  the  percentage  of  students  pursuing  the 
six  sciences,  physiology,  physical  geografy,  physics,  chemistry, 
geology,  and  astronomy  has  fallen  off  nearly  forty  per  cent  in 
the  fifteen  years  from  1895  to  1910. 

6.  This  decline  of  science  is  much  more  markt  in  the  case 
of  the  public  high  school  than  in  the  case  of  the  private  high 
school.  This  indicates  that  the  children  of  the  welthy  and  well- 
to-do  preparing  for  college  are  more  disposed  to  study  science 
than  are  the  pupils  of  our  public  high  schools,  many  of  whom 
are  the  children  of  the  laboring  classes  who  expect  to  go  to  work 
after  graduating  from  high  school. 


21 


7.  The  public  high  school  is  cosmopolitan  and  democratic 
in  its  membership  but  practically  the  only  opportunity  it  offers 
is  that  of  preparing  for  college.  At  present  it  offers  practically 
no  special  preparation  for  those  who  must  enter  the  industries. 

8.  The  demand  for  a separately  maintaind  vocational  high 
school  is  the  logical  outcome  of  present  tendencies  in  our  public 
high  schools.  Unless  our  public  high  schools  turn  right  about 
face  and  offer  adequate  facilities  for  the  training  of  the  nearly 
ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  students  who  do  not  intend  to  go  to 
college,  the  demand  for  the  separate  vocational  school  will  pre- 
vail and  ought  to  prevail. 

9.  The  high-school  sciences  should  be  so  taught  as  to  show 
the  pupil  clearly  how  the  principles  developt  are  involvd  in  his 
own  daily  activities,  or  in  the  activities  of  the  members  of  his 
family,  or  the  activities  of  the  community  in  which  he  livs. 
Otherwise  the  science  taught  is  undigested  or  but  half-digested, 
and  is  soon  useless  if  not  entirely  forgotten. 


Part  II. — Suggestions  Regarding  a Course  op  Science  Study 
With  Special  Reference  to  the  Physical  Sciences1 

science  below  the  high  school 

There  is  great  need  of  much  more  science  instruction  in  the 
elementary  school  than  is  now  being  given.  The  introduction 
of  some  work  in  science  by  the  fairly  well-pre- 
pared and  enthusiastic  teacher  puts  new  life  and 
spirit  into  the  school.  The  child  needs  to  hav  his 
school  hours  enlivend  by  the  introduction  of 
exercises  other  than  those  of  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic. 
Most  of  the  work  in  the  elementary  school  is  not  closely  related 
to  the  child’s  life  activities  outside  of  the  schoolroom.  When 
at  play,  at  home  or  on  the  school  grounds,  and  while  on  his 
way  to  and  from  school  the  child  is  in  constant  contact  with 
nature.  The  skilful  teacher  can  seize  upon  this  fact  and  utilize 
the  child’s  experiences  at  every  turn.  Practical  science  not*  only 
deals  wi  th  a body  of  knowledge  of  great  value  to  the  child  but  it 
also,  at  the  same  time,  if  skilfully  handled,  adds  much  t»o  the 
interest  of  the  pupil  in  all  his  school  work. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  the  teacher  be  a skild  scientist  in 


Need  of  sci= 
ence  in  the 
elementary 
school 


1 For  analytical  outline  see  page  31 


22 


order  that  she  may  conduct  science  exercises  of  high  value. 
She  must,  however,  hav  a clear  idea  of  the  purpose  of  the  work 
and  must  recognize  and  thoroly  believ  in  its  val- 
ue. She  should  be  willing  unhesitatingly  to  put 
herself  in  the  attitude  of  a lerner — of  a stu- 
dent anxious  to  study  into  and  solv,  so  far  as  possible,  the  many 
problems  of  nature  which  arise  daily.  This  means  that  she  must 
be  willing  to  say  frequently,  “I  don’t  know,  but  you  and  I will 
try  to  find  out  about  it.”  If  the  teacher  can  thus  acquire  the 
attitude  of  a student  along  with  the  pupils,  and  will  arm  her- 
self with  the  many  excellent  helps  which  are  available,  she  will 
find  that  many  of  the  problems  which  at  first  completely  baffle 
her  will  soon  be  solvd  redily.  Finally,  the  teacher  of  elemen- 
tary science  who  succedes  best  is  the  one  who  is  willing  to  get 
out  daily  with  the  pupils  upon  the  school  yard,  or  into  the 
neighboring  garden  or  field,  and  occasionally  into  the  nearest 
woods  and  there  study  at  first  hand  the  many  interesting  phases 
of  nature.  The  teacher  who  tries  this  plan  soon  lerns  to  enjoy 
such  trips.  Such  an  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  is  cer- 
tain to  gain  for  her  the  favor  of  the  pupils  which,  in  turn,  will 
greatly  assist  her  in  doing  the  more  systematic  work  of  the 
schoolroom.  The  teacher  is  certain  to  succede  in  her  science 
teaching  in  the  elementary  school  if  she  possesses  the  following 
qualifications  : 

1.  She  should  hav  the  knowledge  concerning  elementary 
science  provided  by  the  ordinary  high  school. 

2.  She  must  hav  a clear  idea  of  the  purpose  of  science  work 
in  the  elementary  school  and  she  must  believ  thoroly  in  its  value. 

3.  She  must  be  willing  to  put  herself  into  the  attitude  of  a 
student  along  with  the  pupils  and  attempt  to  solv  with  them  the 
problems  which  arise. 

4.  She  must  find  it  a real  plesure  to  go  out  with  her  pupils 
into  nature’s  field  and  there  observ  and  study  at  first  hand  the 
common  things  of  life. 

It  is,  however,  a fact  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  compar- 
ativly  few  elementary  school  teachers  are  thus  equipt  for  the 
teaching  of  science.  Superintendents  and  school  administrators 
generally  recognize  this  fact  and  are  consequently  slow  to  provide 
opportunity  for  systematic  science  instruction  in  the  elementary 
school.  At  the  present  time  neither  superintendents  nor  ele- 
mentary school  teachers  take  science  teaching  in  the  grades  very 


Preparation  of 
the  teacher 


23 


seriously,  and  from  present  appearances  it  will  be  some  time 
before  they  will  do  so. 

The  purposes  of  science  study  in  the  elementary  school  are 
briefly  stated  in  a “Course  of  Study  in  Practical  Science”  recent- 
ly issued  by  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of 
Education.  The  principal  aims  to  be  kept  in 
mind  in  this  course  are: 

1.  To  hav  the  pupils  appreciate  nature  and  to 
wish  to  ask  questions  about  natural  objects  and  phenomena. 

2.  To  hav  the  children  acquire  a knowledge  of  facts  or  ex- 
perience that  will  help  in  their  understanding  of  the  natural 
laws  acquired  by  later  study. 

3.  To  help  the  children  understand  their  home  environment 
and  be  interested  in  conserving  home  life  in  all  forms. 

4.  To  hav  the  children  acquire  a minimum  of  information 
which  will  help  them  to  understand  other  subjects  better. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  science  teaching  in  the  elementary 
school  to  develop  the  laws  of  nature.  The  nature  of  the  child’s 
mind  is  reveald  by  the  kind  of  questions  he  asks.  The  typical 
question  askt  by  the  child  in  the  early  grades  is  the  what  question. 
“What  is  this?”  “What  is  that?”  The  answer  may  be,  it  is  a 
kite.  Gradually  as  the  child  develops  he  becomes  interested  in 
the  how  of  things.  His  question  then  is,  how  do  you  make  the 
kite  fly?  The  final  stage  is  the  why  stage.  But  it  is  a long 
stretch  thru  the  what  and  how  stages  of  the  child's  life.  It  is  not 
until  the  child  is  well  establisht  in  the  high  school  that  he  per- 
sistently demands  the  why  of  things  before  he  is  satisfied.  “Why 
does  the  kite  fly?  What  holds  it  up?  Just  how  do  the  forces 
act?”  These  questions  come  only  when  the  pupil  has  arrived  at 
a degree  of  maturity  when  he  seeks  the  causes  of  things.  When 
he  does  reach  this  stage  of  his  development  he  is  redy  to  grapple 
with  the  laws  and  principles  of  science,  but  this  stage  is  not 
ordinarily  reacht  in  the  elementary-school  period.  In  the  ele- 
mentary-school, therefore,  science  should  be  taught  with  a view 
of  giving  the  child  a knowledge  of  individual  things  for  their 
own  sake.  At  this  time  the  child  has  little  or  no  desire  to  gen- 
eralize, nor  can  he  do  so  successfully  to  any  great  extent  if  askt 
to  do  so.  This  is  the  period  when  the  child  is  immensely  busy 
gathering  a vast  amount  of  largely  unrelated  information.  This 
information  will  be  found  to  be  the  brick  and  mortar  alredy  on 


Purpose  orob= 
ject  of  science 
study  in  the  ele= 
mentary  school 


24 


Subject=mat= 
ter  to  be  used 


hand  when  he  gets  to  the  stage  where  he  can  erect  the  structures 
we  call  the  sciences. 

It  is  evident  from  what  has  been  said  that  no  two  schools 
can  successfully  use  exactly  the  same  subject-matter.  Each 
school  and  each  class  should  use  the  material 
with  which  the  pupils  in  that  school  or  that  class 
actually  come  in  contact  in  their  ordinary  daily 
activities.  Since  the  purpose  of  the  course  is  to  explain  the 
natural  phenomena  surrounding  the  children,  it  is  evident  that 
no  cut  and  dried,  specific  and  definit  outline  of  material  can  be 
given.  The  general  character  of  the  material  which  may  be 
used  successfully,  especially  in  rural  schools,  is  indicated  in  the 
Course  of  Study  for  Common  Schools  of  Illinois,  pp.  199-215, 
Fifth  Revision,  1912.  Another  excellent  outline  lately  issued  is 
the  Course  of  Study  in  Practical  Science  for  the  First  Six  Grades 
of  Rural  Schools  of  Massachusetts,  Bulletin  No.  8,  1912. 


SCIENCE  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL 

There  is  no  dout  about  the  first  high-school  year  being  a 
trying  one.  The  pupil  finds  himself  in  a great  mesure  in  a 
Transition  froml  grange,  new  world.  If  he  be  a pupil  from  the 
the  grades  to  the  eighth  grade  of  the  city  school,  he  has  been  used 
hagh  schooi  I to  being  in  a room  with  forty  other  pupils  with 
all  of  whom  he  was  intimately  acquainted,  having  been  pro- 
moted from  grade  to  grade  with  most  of  them.  He  has  been 
accustomed  to  recite  all  his  lessons  to  the  same  teacher.  New 
subjects  hav  not  often  been  taken  up  by  him;-  his  arithmetic, 
reading  and  geography  hav  been  progressiv  developments  of  the 
same  general  subjects  as  he  advanst  from  grade  to  grade.  Now 
he  is  thrown  into  a room  with  scores  or  even  hundreds  of  others, 
the  majority,  probably,  strangers  to  him.  He  recites  his  lessons 
to  departmental  teachers.  Not  only  are  his  subjects  new,  but 
his  Latin,  German,  algebra,  history  or  English,  are  much  more 
technical  and  exacting  than  were  the  subjects  to  which  he  has 
been  accustomed.  If  he  is  a country  boy,  fresh  from  the  eighth 
grade  of  the  rural  school,  entering  the  small  town  high  school 
his  position  is  even  more  trying. 

To  put  the  freshman  boy  who  is  not  particularly  a book 
lerner  into  Latin,  algebra,  English  and  foren  history,  under 
circumstances  such  as  those  described  above,  is  to  invite  failure 
and  insure  discouragement.  Even  permitting  him  to  elect  one 


25 


science  of  the  establisht  type,  is  not  much  of  a relief.  All  the 
older,  systematic  sciences  hav  been  so  thoroly  systematized  and 
the  emphasis  is  placed  so  strongly  upon  the  generalizations,  the 
laws  and  the  principles  that  the  tension  is  just  about  as  strong 
with  them  as  with  any  of  the  high-school  subjects. 

It  is  an  erroneous  assumption,  and  yet  an  assumption  gen- 
erally made,  apparently,  that  the  9th  grade  child  is  essentially 
different  in  mental  capacity  from  the  8th  grade  child.  The 
average  9th  grade  child  is  in  a transition  state,  passing  from  the 
stage  where  he  was  interested  in  the  study  of  individual  facts, 
lerning  them  for  their  own  sake,  to  the  stage  where  he  is  begin- 
ning to  be  interested  in  generalizations.  All  our  high-school 
science  is  at  present  highly  organized  evidently  upon  the  sup- 
position that  9th  grade  pupils  are  clearly  in  the  stage  of  develop- 
ment in  which  the  type  study  and  the  generalization  are  all- 
sufficient.  * 

At  the  present  time  there  is  developing  a strong  demand  for 
a general  science  course  in  the  first  year  of  the  high  school. 

Those  who  advocate  such  a course  see  many  ad- 
vantages to  be  gaind  by  it: 

1.  Such  a course  in  general  science  taken  by 
all  students  during  the  first  year  of  the  high 
school  would  greatly  reliev  the  tension  of  that  trying  year, 
thereby  lessening  somewhat  the  elimination  of  students  during 
the  high-school  period. 

2.  With  the  introduction  of  agriculture  and  household 
science  into  the  high  schools  there  has  arisen  great  need  of  some 
instruction  in  physics  and  chemistry  in  the  first  year  in  order 
that  the  work  in  these  applied  sciences  may  be  more  profitable 
in  the  second  and  third  years. 

8.  At  best,  it  is  probable  that  a large  number  of  high-school 
student's  will  drop  out  before  completing  the  entire  course.  A 
well-organized  general  science  course  will  furnish  such  students 
with  a considerable  knowledge  concerning  some  of  the  most  es- 
sential facts  of  science. 

4.  Such  a course  would  materially  increas  the  effectivness 
of  the  instruction  in  the  other  and  more  systematic  sciences 
coming  later  in  the  course. 

The  course  in  general  science  for  the  first  high-school  year 
recognizes  that  the  pupil  is  still  largely  interested  in  lerning 


Function  of 
general  science 
course  in  first- 
year  high  school 


26 


about  the  individual  facts  of  nature  for  their  own  sake.  The 
pupil  is  really  interested  in  seeking  and  discover- 
ing the  explanation  of  natural  phenomena,  but 
his  interest  lies  chiefly  in  satisfying  his  curiosity 
regarding  that  particular  phenomenon,  and  only 
to  a limited  degree  for  the  sake  of  determining  a law  or  arriving 
at  a generalization.  Therefore,  the  course  in  general  science 
should  deal  with  much  the  same  kind  of  material  as  would  he 
suitable  for  presentation  in  the  upper  grades. 

The  usual  division  of  our  knowledge  concerning  the  world 
of  nature  into  sciences  such  as  physiology,  botany,  zoology,  phys- 
ics, chemistry,  meteorology,  astronomy,  geology,  etc.,  is  a division 
purely  for  convenience.  The  botanist  and  zoologist  know  that 
there  is  no  definit  dividing  line  between  their  two  fields ; the  physi- 
cist realizes  that  his  science  blends  into  chemistry,  meteorology, 
physiology,  botany  and  indeed  all  the  other  sciences.  None  of 
our  life  activities  has  to  do  with  the  laws  and  principles  of  a 
single  science.  To  know  fairly  well  the  story  of  a tallow  candle, 
the  material  of  which  it  is  made,  how  it  is  made  and  how  it  burns 
involvs  a knowledge  of  many  of  the  principal  laws  of  several 
sciences.  Now,  in  the  course  in  general  science  there  is  little  or 
no  need  of  recognizing  this  artificial  division  of  nature’s  laws  in- 
to the  sciences.  The  units  of  instruction  should  be  chosen  from 


ninth-grade 

Character  of 
the  general 
science  course 


the  pupil’s  environment  and  each  unit  should  be  vitally  related 
to  the  pupil’s  life  activities  or  to  the  welfare  of 
the  community  of  which  he  is  a part. 

The  following  topics  are  suggestiv  of  the 
general  character  of  the  units  of  instruction 


Some  topics 
suitable  for  the 
course  in  gen= 
eral  science 


suitable  for  this  course  : 

1.  Lighting 
The  pine  knot  ) 

The  grease  lamp  > historical 

The  candle 

The  kerosene  lamp 

Petroleum  and  its  products 
Gasoline  lighting 

Properties  and  dangers 
of  gasoline 
Acetylene  lighting 
Electric  lighting 
Gas  lighting 

Manufacture  of  coal  gas  and 
water  gas 


2.  Heating 

Beginning  of  use  of  fire,  historical 

How  wood  burns 

How  coal  burns 

Composition  of  wood 

Composition  of  coal 

Early  and  modern  coal  stoves 

Composition  of  air 

Oxidation  and  combustion 

Chimneys  and  convection  currents 

Jacketed  stoves 

Furnace  heating 

Steam  heating 

Hot  water  heating 


27 


Natural  and  artificial  lighting  History  of  cooking  devises 
Diffused  and  direct  light  Gasoline  and  gas  stoves 

Direction  and  intensity  of  light 
Cost  of  artificial  light 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  units  of  instruction  here  chosen  are 
very  different  from  the  units  of  instruction  in  the  ordinary 
physics  or  chemistry  text-book.  Starting  with  the  facts  which 
the  pupils  alredy  know  about  each  of  the  sub-units  as  they  are 
given  in  the  above  outlines,  the  teacher  can  develop  many  of  the 
most  important  laws  of  physics  and  chemistry.  A ninth-grade 
class  in  the  hands  of  a fairly  skilful  teacher  will  be  able  to  work 
out  the  more  fundamentally  important  physical  and  chemical 
principles  involvd  in  either  of  the  above  outlines  in  about  three 
or  four  weeks.  A year’s  work  of  this  nature  will  furnish  the 
pupil  with  a good,  practical  understanding  of  applied  science  as 
it  affects  his  daily  life. 

It  is  evident  that  no  course  can  be  outlined  for  this  first 
year  general  science  which  is  equally  suitable  for  all  schools 
and  all  classes.  The  very  purpose  of  the  course 
is  to  giv  the  pupil  an  understanding  of  the  most 
important  features  of  his  environment  and  no 
two  pupils  or  classes  hav  exactly  the  same  envi- 
ronment., As  a basis  for  the  course,  however,  it  is  safe  to  pre- 
sume that  practically  all  pupils  and  all  classes  in  any  given 
community  hav  somewhat  similar  environment  so  far  as  lighting, 
heating,  water  supply,  wether,  climate,  foods  and  food  materials, 
use  of  simple  machinery,  helth  preservation,  and  many  other 
topics  are  concernd.  Especially  are  such  topics  as  arise  out  of 
a study  of  school  environment  certain  to  be  practically  of  equal 
value  to  all  the  pupils;  moreover,  such  material  is  easily 
accessible.  Nevertheless,  a school  located  in  an  agricultural 
community  needs  to  use  very  different  material,  in  general,  from 
that  used  in  a school  located  in  a manufacturing  community. 

At  present,  teachers  who  feel  the  need  of  such  a science 
course  as  is  here  suggested  feel  the  need  of  textbooks  which 
furnish  organized  material  suitable  for  such  a 
course.  Such  texts  are  beginning  to  appear. 
The  attempts  to  formulate  outlines  for  such  a 
course,  and  the  choice  of  material  organized  in 
such  texts  must,  of  course,  recognize  the  purpose 
of  the  course  and  the  general  suitability  and  availability  of  the 
material  to  most  schools.  The  teacher  must  not  expect  to  find 


Textbooks  out= 
lining  this  gen= 
eral  science 
course  appear= 
ing 


N,o  fixt  and 
rigid  course 
possible  or  even 
desirable 


28 


the  course  so  workt  out  that  the  teaching  of  it  makes  no  more 
demands  upon  him  than  does  the  teaching  of  a course  in  the 
older  establisht  sciences.  For  many  years  to  come,  at  least,  the 
teaching  of  a course  in  general  science  to  ninth-grade  pupils 
will  demand  the  best  efforts  of  the  best  traind  and  most  skilful 
science  teachers  in  our  high  schools.  Where  such  a course  has 
been  given  a thoro  trial  for  several  years  and  in  the  hands  of 
several  different  teachers , the  results  achievd  richly',  justify  the 
statement  that  no  more  valuable  course  can  be  offerd  in  the 
high  school. 

There  is  general  recognition  among  science  teachers  of  the 
fact  that  our  high-school  courses  in  science  must  be  reorganized. 

There  is  also  recognition  of  the  fact  that  high- 
school  science  is  not  now  receiving  anything  like 
the  emphasis  which  its  inportance  to  the  major- 
ity of  high-school  students  demands.  As  has 
been  shown  in  Part  I,  of  this  paper,  there  is  no  justification  for 
the  generally  accepted  supposition  that  the  ordinary  high- 
school  student  should  be  permitted  to  pursue  but  one  science 
study  at  a time;  i.  e.,  that  no  more  than  one-fourth  of  his  time 
should  be  devoted  to  the  study  of  science.  No  voice  is  raised 
against  the  practis  of  permitting  a student  to  pursue  two  or 
three  languages  at  once.  As  has  been  shown  in  Part  I,  50  per 
cent  or  more  of  the  enrold  students  in  1910  were  studying  each 
of  the  three  subjects,  Latin,  English  literature,  and  rhetoric. 
Even  if  each  of  these  subjects  were  offerd  in  each  of  the  four 
years  of  the  high-school  course,  these  figures  mean  that  not  less 
than  12  per  cent  of  the  total  enrolment  were  also  enrold  con- 
stantly in  each  of  these  subjects.  Evidently  a much  larger  per 
cent  than  this  were  enrold  in  ati  least  two  of  these  subjects  at 
the  same  time.  If  this  is  necessary  and  desirable  for  those  pre- 
paring for  college,  we  still  should  remember  that  only  5x/2  per 
cent  are  preparing  for  college.  In  the  reorganizing  of  the  sci- 
ences in  our  high  schools  we  shall  be  obliged , if  we  are  to  do 
justis  to  the  pupils  who  are  not  preparing  for  college , to  per- 
mit two  sciences  to  be  pursued  at  the  same  time , at  least  in  the 
later  years  of  the  course. 


Reorganization 
of  high=school 
science  nec= 
essary 


29 


As  has  alredy  been  stated  (Part  I),  we  are  not  at  present 
offering  the  kind  of  science  in  the  high  school  which  warrants  # 
the  expenditure  of  much  larger  amounts  of  time 
and  energy  than  are  now  expended.  We  shall 
hav  so  to  adapt  our  science  instruction,  and  the 
choice  of  material  selected,  that  the  student  will 
receiv  training  which  will  be  of  more  practical  value  to  him 
when  he  enters  upon  life’s  work.  It.  is  evident  that  the  science 
offerd  to  the  95  per  cent,  of  high-school  students  who  are  using 
the  high  school  as  a preparation  for  life’s  work  should  have  a 
pretty  strong  vocational  flavor.  The  physical  sciences  taught 
in  such  a course  should  not  deal  extensivly  with  principles  and 
laws  the  usefulness  of  which  the  student  may  come  to  appre- 
ciate only  should  he  happen  to  take  extensiv  advanst  courses  in 
the  technical  school;  but  the  subject  matter  chosen  should  deal 
with  laws  and  principles  the  usefulness  of  which  the  average  per- 
son in  the  common  walks  of  life  will  appreciate. 

To  illustrate:  In  the  teaching  of  electricity,  we  hav  been 
placing  nearly  as  much  emphasis  upon  static  electricity  as  upon 
current  electricity ; nearly  every  small  high  school  is  equipt  with  a 
20-dollar  static  machine  (albeit  the  instrument  isgenerallyoutof 
repair),  notwithstanding  that  there  is  no  adequate  means  of 
securing  a current  for  the  study  of  current  electricity.  Nearly 
every  laboratory  is  equipt  with  astatic,  tangent  and  d’Arsonval 
galvanometers  notwithstanding  the  absense  of  standard 
ammeters,  voltmeters  and  watt-hour  meters.  Even  our  text- 
books giv  equal  emphasis  to  all  the  primary  cells,  those  which 
hav  been  of  servis  to  man  in  days  now  largely  past — the 
dichromate,  the  Daniel,  the  gravity,  and  the  Leclanche — 
with  those  of  greatest  importance  today — the  dry  and  the 
storage  cell.  The  Underwriter’s  Code,  or  the  National  Electric 
Code  governing  safe  wiring  rarely,  if  ever,  finds  mention.  No 
time  is  found  for  the  determination  of  current  consumption 
and  light  produced  by  the  common  lighting  devises.  Alternat- 
ing currents  are  entirely  omitted  or  barely  toucht  in  high- 
school  texts  and  courses.  The  importance  of  alternating  cur- 
rents is  sufficient  to  demand  that  some  consideration  be  given 
them;  the  difficulty  of  mastering  all  the  details  concerning  alter- 
nating  currents  should  not  deter  us  from  presenting  some  of  the 
more  important  and  easily  taught  principles.  The  failure  of  our 
present  texts  to  strike  hard  at  the  vitally  important  topics,  and 


Character  of 
science  instruc= 
tion  must  also 
be  modified 


30 


to  omit  other  topics  which  are  of  slight  importance,  is  notisable 
in  many  other  topics  treated.  The  same  criticism  can  be  made 
of  our  present  texts  in  chemistry.  It  is  only  fair  to  state,  how- 
ever, that  in  recent  years  the  new  textbooks  in  both  physics  and 
chemistry  hav  shown  decided  tendencies  in  the  right  direction. 
The  remarkable  increas  in  our  knowledge  in  each  of  these  sci- 
ences and  the  still  more  rapid  increas  in  useful  applications 
render  the  task  of  producing  a high-school  text  which  can  be 
coverd  in  one  year  by  the  high-school  student  a difficult  one. 

Our  present  laboratory  methods  are  not  the  best.  The  ap- 
paratus used  in  the  ordinary  high  school  is  often  not  best  suited 
to  teach  effectivly  the  facts  and  principles  involvd. 
A distinct  gain  is  made  by  supplanting,  in  many 
cases,  the  specially  designd  apparatus  by  appara- 
tus of  the  commercial  type.  Many  small  high  schools  attempt 
to  do  the  work  as  outlined  in  the  ordinary  manual  with  little 
equipment  with  which  to  work.  In  many  instances  the  teachers 
in  these  schools  could  secure  better  results  by  using  material  of  a 
commercial  character  easily  obtainable  in  the  home  market.  Ap- 
paratus especially  designd  for  laboratory  use  is  much  more  ex- 
pensiv  than  the  commercial  article.  Therefore,  when  important 
facts  of  science  can  be  shown  by  means  of  the  commercial  article 
it  is  best  to  use  it.  With  a good  mpply  of  mesuring  instruments 
such  as,  meter  sticks,  balances  and  weights,  spring  balances,  ther- 
mometers, volt  meters  and  ammeters,  much  good  laboratory  work 
can  be  accomplish!  with  an  equipment  largely  of  commercial  na- 
ture. 

The  class  demonstrations  with  apparatus  of  commercial  type 
and  on  a scale  of  sufficient  size  to  be  easily  seen  by  the  members 
of  the  class  are  of  high  value.  Some  exercizes  of  this  type  which 
should  be  more  frequently  given  are  the  following:  (1)  deter- 
mination of  horse-power  and  efficency  of  gasoline  engine,  or  of 
the  steam  engine;  (2)  determination  of  horse-power  and  efficiency 
of  a water  motor  using  water  meter  and  pressure  gauge;  (3)  de- 
termination of  horse-power  and  efficiency  of  electric  motor  using 
watt-hour  meter;  (4)  determination  of  efficiency  of  several  forms 
of  gas  and  electric  lights  in  common  use.  The  average  student 
will  derive  much  more  benefit  from  a few  such  exercizes  as  these 
having  a content  worthy  of  the  best  effort  of  any  student  rather 
than  to  spend  all  his  time  at  individual  experiments. 


Change  in  lab= 
oratory  meth= 
ods  needed 


31 


Analytical  Summary.  Part  II 

SCIENCE  IN  THE  ELEMENTARY . SCHOOL 

1.  Science  instruction  is  much  needed  in  the  elementary 
school.  If  well  done  it  puts  new  life  into  the  school. 

2.  The  teacher  in  the  elementary  school  to  succede  need  not 
be  a specialist  in  science,  but  she  should  (1)  hav  a high-school 
training  in  science;  (2)  she  should  put  herself  in  the  attitude  of 
a student;  (3)  she  should  hav  a clear  idea  of  the  purpose  of  the 
work;  (4)  she  should  lern  to  study  nature  at  first  hand  with  the 
pupils. 

3.  Science  in  the  elementary  school  is  not  taught  for  the  sake 
of  developing  laws,  but  to  lern  the  facts  of  nature  for  their 
own  sake. 

4.  Material  used  in  science  teaching  in  the  elementary  school 
is  simply  that  of  the  child’s  environment. 

SCIENCE  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL 

5.  There  should  be  a course  in  general  science  given  in  the 
first  high-school  year. 

6.  The  function  of  the  course  and  the  material  used  should 
be  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  elementary  school. 

7.  Textbooks  for  this  course  in  general  science  are  now 
appearing. 

8.  The  entire  science  course  for  the  high  school  needs  re- 
organizing. In  this  reorganization  much  more  time  should  be 
allowd  science  than  is  now  given. 

9.  Much  of  high-school  science  instruction  should  be  given 
a vocational  turn. 

10.  Both  textbooks  and  laboratory  work  need  to  be  re- 
adjusted to  meet  this  new  purpose  in  high-school  science 
instruction. 


32 


THE  ILLINOIS  STATE  NORMAL  UNIVERSITY, 
the  oldesti  normal  school  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  affords  ex- 
cellent advantages  to  young  people  who  wish  to  prepare  for 
teaching.  Its  equipment  is  ample;  its  annual  income  excedes 
$140,000;  its  regular  faculty  numbers  fifty-four.  Its  enrolment 
of  students  and  pupils  for  last  year  was  3016. 

The  following  programs  are  provided: 

1.  A two-year  program  for  graduates  of  accredited  high  schools  with 

four-year  courses. 

2.  A three-year  program  for  holders  of  first-grade  certificates,  and  for 

others  who  have  completed  three  years  of  high-school  work. 

3.  A four-year  program  for  holders  of  second-grade  certificates,  and 

for  others  who  have  had  at  least  two  years  of  high-school  work. 

4.  A five-year  program  for  graduates  of  the  eighth  grade  who  intend  to 

become  teachers. 

(Programs  1-4  lead  to  the  regular  normal  diploma.) 

5.  A two-year  special  program  for  Kindergartners. 

6.  A two-year  special  program  for  teachers  of  Music. 

7.  A two-year  special  program  for  teachers  of  Manual  Training. 

8.  A two-year  special  program  for  teachers  of  Agriculture. 

9.  A two-year  special  program  for  teachers  of  Art  and  Design. 

10.  A two-year  special  program  for  teachers  of  Domestic  Science. 

11.  A two-year  special  programi  for  teachers  of  Domestic  Art. 

12.  A three-year  program  in  Domestic  Science  and  Domiestic  Art. 
(Programs  5-12  are  based  upon  four  years  of  high-school  work  and 

lead  to  a special  Teachers’  Diploma.  Students  without  full  high- 
school  preparation  may  make  up  the  missing  work  at  Normal.) 

13.  A four-year  Teachers’  College  course  for  high-school  graduates. 

14.  A one-year  program  for  college  graduates. 

(Programs  13  and  14  lead  to  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Education, 
and  are  designd  to  prepare  high-school  teachers,  supervisors,  princi- 
pals and  superintendents.) 

15.  A two-year  program  for  graduates  of  the  eighth  grade  who  are  pre- 

paring to  teach  in  country  schools. 

16.  A one-year  program  for  tenth-grade  graduates  and  holders  of  second- 

grade  certificates  who  expect  to  teach  in  country  schools. 

(Programs  15  and  16  lead  to  a special  certificate.) 

17.  A four-year  high-school  program  for  College  Preparation. 

18.  A four-year  high-school  program  in  Agriculture. 

19.  A four-year  high-school  program'  in  Manual  Training. 

20.  A four-year  high-school  program  in  Home  Economics. 

(Programs  17-20  are  for  graduates  of  the  eighth  grade  and  lead  to 
the  diploma  of  the  University  High  School.  ) 

For  catalog  or  special  information  write  to 

DAVID  FELMLEY,  President, 

Normal,  Illinois. 


